CASE OF THE WEREWOLF KILLER
by ulyferal
Summary: Based on my one shot: A Wolf in the Night. A serial killer is cutting a swath of death from Alaska to Las Vegas. For CSI and BAU the case turns into something extraordinary when the world of the supernatural gets involved. Crossover: Criminal Minds, Supernatural, CSI, passing mention of X-Files.
1. Chapter 1

**CASE OF THE WEREWOLF KILLER**

**Chapter 1: A Serial Killer Stalks Las Vegas**

_**A/N: This was supposed to be only a sequel and one shot to my A Wolf in the Night but as I got to writing it just grew and grew into something else more exciting. Now it's a crossover with Criminal Minds and a serial killer. Though I'll use the websites concerning the shows so I can get the characters right, I'm still not used to writing other fandoms yet so be kind with your comments and this is definitely AU.**_

Catherine Willows of the Las Vegas Crime Scene Investigators stared down at the third grisly corpse she'd seen over the past three months. What made this body different from their usual murder scenes was the gruesomeness of it and the fact it was number three of what the media was now dubbing the Werewolf Killer due to their propensity of killing on full moons and the ripped up condition, like an animal had mauled it, of the body.

As she raised her camera to take pictures, she shuddered inside. Catherine had seen her share of serial killer victims and other gruesome deaths but this one left her terrified to go out without an escort. She couldn't recall when she'd been this intimidated by a perp before and she didn't like it.

"Crap, another one," a voice grumbled softly near her.

She turned her head and looked up to the sad and angry face of the city's medical examiner, Dr. Robbins.

"I'm afraid there's no doubt of that." She sighed, returning to her work.

"I hope to hell we catch this bastard soon. This level of violence suggests someone with absolutely no off button." Robbins waited until Catherine was finished before kneeling down with great difficulty to examine the body.

"This one wasn't found as quickly as the last one...time of death approximately 12 hours ago," he grunted, then struggled a little to get upright. He hadn't bothered to try and search the corpse right now as it was in too bad a shape. He gestured to his assistant and the body was quickly scraped into a body bag then carried off to the morgue wagon. "I'll get to the autopsy immediately...don't want the higher ups to start breathing down my neck," he grumbled more to himself than her, hobbling after the body.

"Good idea." With the body gone, Catherine began processing the scene. Just like the first two, there was very little blood on the ground despite the corpse being chopped up. The dump site was also in the same area, The Gardens at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve.

Shaking her head, she finished the body dump and look for her partner on this job. Warrick Brown was just trudging her way from his fruitless search for other clues.

"Let me guess...nothing but animal prints, right?"

"Yeah, and it's seriously creeping me out. I freely admit, it scares me to go out there to search for clues without keeping my hand on my gun the whole time. I'd almost go with the public's thinking that it's a werewolf," Warrick said, disgust and no little concern in his gruff voice. He was a tall, lean black man with a normally laid back personality but this strange killer had made him uneasy and afraid.

Catherine grimaced. "Don't go there Warrick. We need to keep our heads about us on this one."

"Yeah, I know but whoever this is, sure makes me really nervous."

"I know what you mean. Let's get back to the lab."

The two walked the long distance to where their SUV was parked and drove back into the city. A long night of work awaited them.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

With the appearance of a serial killer, everyone at the crime lab did double duty. The killer was top priority, other cases were shoved back but despite all their efforts, they had still not been able to identify the killer.

The strangest and worst part of it all was they couldn't even determine what sex the perpetrator was. That fact rankled the DNA lab tech, Greg Sanders as he processed the DNA, which there were ample samples of it, as many ways as possible and still wasn't able to get a sex, identity or even if the person was truly human at all which, with his scientific mind, he simply couldn't accept so he kept trying to get a better result, but so far, without much success.

"I don't understand it! Greg has done every test imaginable to the DNA samples and still can't determine the identity or sex of the perp. That just doesn't make sense," Sara Sidle groused to her lab partner Nick Stokes as they processed fabric from the victims.

"Neither does the fact, he can't even get a true idea if the person is even human, hence the werewolf sticker," Nick grumbled.

"I don't buy that werewolf nonsense for a second...a dog perhaps...but no wolf. But that doesn't explain why the samples are so degraded before we can test them."

"But what could do that? One of the bodies was only eight hours old, so it shouldn't have degraded at all...yet it did. What could do that? Something is just not right about all this," Nick said more sharply than intended, frustration making him just as snarly as she was being.

"I agree and that's why this case is so frustrating. And it doesn't help that Conrad is breathing down Grissom's neck demanding answers, either."

"Don't worry about Grissom, he's able to fend off that creep." Nick had been angry for Grissom being hassled by the under sheriff, but Gil always came out on top in any altercation with Ecklie and managed to keep the idiot from bothering them. Sara grumbled about Ecklie's interference but Nick had already tuned her out. It was the same thing they all said about the man.

His silence didn't bother her as she finished what she was doing then went to her own lab to do some more testing.

Nick didn't let her presently pissy attitude bother him. They all had been working long twelve hour shifts trying desperately to put a name and profile on this serial killer and were feeling the strain. Everyone wanted to catch this person very badly, but Nick was afraid none of them were going to succeed because he firmly believed the killer wasn't human.

Ever since that horrific and world shattering Halloween night, Nick had been waiting for that promised pasta dinner and answers to his many burning questions from Grissom. However, time passed, the case that had so shocked him, had been carefully made to disappear and, despite Nick's many meaningful looks cast his way, Grissom still hadn't called him over to his home.

And it looked like it would be even longer before he got any private time with Gil. Ever since this serial killer appeared, they all had been too snowed under with work and the stress was worse for his boss as the press and his superiors were all over him to find the identity of the perp so the police could arrest them.

Grissom now hardly left the lab to sleep much less eat. Catherine, he noted, did make sure someone brought him food and would browbeat him into taking a nap in the crib but she couldn't get him to go home and recharge. He was obsessed with solving this case but Nick felt he was actually trying to hunt down the perp himself.

This was why Nick was so certain no one on the team was going to catch the killer because said killer wasn't human at all, at least some of the time. It made his skin crawl to think there was a seriously deranged shapeshifter out there.

Why he was certain it was one of Grissom's kind, was the fact the bodies were totally random, had been savagely ripped apart and some of the body parts had been eaten or taken away and the bodies had been dumped in wooded areas. Yeah, he did know of cases where a serial killer had eaten flesh, but none of them had done this kind of violence to the body.

So far the guy or gal had killed over twenty men and women from Canada to Nevada over the past ten years, as near as they'd been able to track. Nick suspected the tally was far too low. None of the people killed were related or knew each other nor was there any sign of sexual trauma or robbery. The perp seemed to just like killing for the sake of killing. That just made Nick sick and afraid.

It didn't help that the perp also changed his body dump location when they hit Nevada. Instead of dumping in the woods, the killer opted for the desert recreation area known as The Gardens at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. Why change its pattern now? Lake Mead, with it's wooded areas would have made more sense and was only thirty minutes away rather than the desert park that was less than ten minutes away from the city unless being closer was their intention.

He desperately needed to talk to Grissom about this but he could never get him alone long enough to ask and it was eating at him with each new body. Tonight was no exception, with this new body, everyone was working overtime and were short tempered.

Glancing over to his boss's office, he saw Conrad Ecklie, the under sheriff, already hassling Grissom. Shaking his head, Nick focused his attention on his job which was the only thing he could do right now.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

"Grissom, the Mayor is really getting steamed over our inability to find this person. I need answers I can give him." The annoying under sheriff demanded, leaning threateningly over the desk to glare at Grissom.

Dr. Gil Grissom was not intimidated but he was annoyed. He briefly entertained the thought of allowing his eyes to change just to get Ecklie to back off but didn't given in to the temptation.

Instead, he said in that even tempered voice of his, "I can't give you what I don't have. My people have been working round the clock but the evidence is just not yielding the information we need. We haven't been able to determine why but we won't give up trying."

Ecklie grimaced and stood straight again. "With all this fancy equipment and our top rated reputation, I fail to understand how that is true."

"Evidence doesn't lie nor alter and we are very careful testing it. I've had the samples retested multiple times but the results remain the same without yielding any new data we desperately need. You simply can't make it do what it won't."

Ecklie glared at Grissom but the night shift supervisor simply eyed him back with mild annoyance. Hissing in anger, the man stormed from Grissom's office.

Allowing a low growl to escape his lips, Grissom turned to his computer and reopened the screen he'd quickly closed when the under sheriff burst into his office. He frowned at the screen, paging through several websites but apparently not finding what he was searching for which caused his frustration levels to rise even higher.

He knew Nick wanted to speak with him and why but he just didn't have the time to deal with that issue right now. This problem was much bigger than the young man knowing what he truly was.

A threat bigger than the one that had occurred on Halloween was haunting his city and he had to find it soon. Like Nick, he knew the killer was one of his own...but no wolf behaved like this.

And that was the other thing...despite seeing and sniffing one of the dead, he couldn't detect what kind of shapeshifter had done it. That made this case even more strange as all shapeshifters had a distinct scent and should be easily identifiable but not this one. So what was this thing? Only a very sick creature could have behaved this bizarrely. But shapeshifters were notoriously healthy and unaffected by man's diseases both mental and physical. However, they could be poisoned, radiated, and get cancer. However, none of those conditions should cause one to lose their mind like this and if it did, somehow, the person should have given themselves away by now.

Too many question with no answers. It was remotely possible a shapeshifter ran afoul of some rogue scientist who had experimented on them but that pushed into the realm of science fiction and though he was a figment of mankind's imagination, he didn't prescribe to that nonsense himself.

He sighed and rubbed his face with his hand, flicking off the current website he was viewing so no one could see it. Trying to find this thing on his own was yielding no results and the killer continued to kill at will. Doing it on full moon nights was also uncharacteristic except for the fright factor which was probably why they did it. But why? Yet another question.

As much as he hated any shapeshifter in his territory, he was going to need help to stop this creature.

'Suck it up, Grissom, this is bigger than you can handle,' he growled mentally and reached for the phone.


	2. Chapter 2

**CASE OF THE WEREWOLF KILLER**

**Chapter 2: BAU Arrives**

Two and a half weeks after the most recent body of the serial killer had been found, dawn was rising ending another long shift for the night crew. As he was briefing the on coming day shift, Nick noted Captain Brass leading some suit dressed visitors past their labs heading for Grissom's office.

"Aw shit, fed alert," he announced softly.

Sara and Catherine quickly turned their heads to stare as well.

"I don't recognize them, do you?" Sara asked.

"No, not the usual suits we get, wonder who they are?" Catherine asked, thoughtfully.

"Well there's no doubt they are with the FBI. That's going to gum up things," Nick sourly noted.

Willows could only agree as she watched the group greet Grissom. Sighing, she realized none of them could leave yet. Her daughter wasn't going to be happy but she was used to her mother being late.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

With a barely veiled look of irritation and anger, Brass made the introductions. "Dr. Gil Grissom this is Agents Hotchner, Morgan, and Gideon of the BAU from Quantico."

"A pleasure to meet you Dr. Grissom. Your work is well known to us," Hotchner greeted the man with sincerity. He needed to soothe angry emotions he could feel around him before they could erupt. It was a common enough reaction whenever BAU was called in so they were used to it and had found a tried and true method of being sympathetic and understanding that worked very well.

"Sir, I'd like you to know we aren't here to take over your investigation, rather we want to help you find and identify the unsub as quickly as possible before they kill again," he soothed the bristling cops. "I understand you're having extreme difficulties establishing a profile or even obtaining their sex, is this correct?"

Grissom sighed mentally in relief. Agent Hotchner struck the right tone with Brass to get the cooperation he required. He was glad his friend's team had such a leader, now maybe they would succeed in catching this killer. Even though the humans couldn't be relied on to kill the culprit, their resources could help them at least locate this guy. The real work would have to be done by himself and his BAU friend.

"Yes it is. For reasons unknown, the samples we've obtained from the scenes and the victims have failed repeatedly to reveal the sex or identity of the perpetrator. It's gotten extremely frustrating at this point for my team."

"I can imagine it has. Would you mind allowing us to go over all that you have collected and question your team?" Morgan asked politely.

"No, of course not. You've arrived in time to speak with them before they leave for home. Have you been given a place to set up yet?"

"Yes, thank you. We appreciate your cooperation and will try not to interfere to much with your work. We want to catch this person as soon as possible too."

Grissom nodded and escorted the group out to the labs where the BAU team spread out and thoroughly interviewed each of the techs, teasing every little detail from them. Then with copies of reports taken from Grissom and their voluminous notes, they departed for their temporary headquarters within the police station to pour through the data.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

When the exhausting interrogations were over, the night shift CSI members sighed in relief but didn't go home, too angry and upset to leave until they had a chance to air their grievances with Grissom first. He heard them out then said...

"Easy, calm yourselves...the BAU are here to aid us not take over like most agencies. They are highly skilled at profiling and will use the data we give them to try and build an image of who we are chasing. After all, it doesn't matter who succeeds in identifying the killer, its catching the person before they kill again that matters. So I want you to continue giving them your complete cooperation and hand over your data without complaint. Insure I get a copy as well."

Though still a bit annoyed by the interference from an outside agency, his team were also a little ashamed for jumping down their boss' throat and...he was right...it didn't matter who fingered the killer, catching them was what mattered. They dispersed to go home and get some much needed rest. Tomorrow they would dig deeper for clues.

As his co-workers dispersed, Nick hung back, waiting until he and Grissom were alone. Realizing what Nick was up to, Gil went back into his office and collected his briefcase and coat.

Nick stepped into the office and shut the door behind him. Grissom looked up and eyed him warily. "Something you wanted, Nick?"

"We really need to talk, Gil...especially since this case seems to have too much similarity with that weird one we handled months ago. Can you make time tonight?"

"No, sorry...I have a prior commitment." Grissom regretted pushing Nick off again but he had time for this now. He moved closer to Nick and murmured, "Trust me, I haven't forgotten. I will make time, soon."

Nick sighed in resignation and nodded. "I'll hold you to that. See you tomorrow." He opened the door and made for the locker room so he could change his clothes while Grissom closed walked away toward the elevator.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

In their temporary command center, the BAU team had already set up their crime board and communications. Garcia, their tech wizard, already commandeered the Vegas stations data center as her own to begin combing through police web sites trying to back track the unsub in hopes of discovering some clue to their identity. The rest sat around the conference table going through what they'd been given by Grissom's team, picking it over carefully for any clue that might have been over looked.

After a few hours work, a tentative time line had been established and entered on a dry ease board at the front of the room. By each date and time on the board was a place, name, and picture of each victim. J.J. bustled in with that last of the information she'd gleaned from watch commander chief of police and Garcia. She now stood before them, prepared to give an over view on the case. Everyone, except Garcia who was still in the tech room but was listening on speaker phone, turned their attention to J.J. and the board.

"So far we've been able to tentatively trace the unsubs path back to Elbow-Sheep Wildland Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada where the first victim, Harvey Naton was found. The man had been mountain biking in the area. It was two months before his body was found. The next bodies were located in Missoula and Butte, Montana; Idaho Falls, Idaho; Salt Lake City and Provo Utah; and a tiny town called Ely just inside the Nevada state line before hitting Las Vegas. In each case, the unsub killed one person in each location around the full moon before moving on again. There are no clues to determine how long the unsub remained in each area."

Morgan rubbed his face and sighed. "Whoever this is, they seemed to be as insubstantial as a ghost. We see signs of their kills but nothing of the one doing it."

"It's frustrating alright," Reid interjected. "The only facts we do have is this: Each of the vics are male, in their 20's to 30's with no connections to each other except for having the same love of the outdoors, but not the same choice of hobby. Each were killed while on vacation doing their favorite hobby. All were apparently killed around the full moon and their bodies were killed exactly the same way and left either where they'd been enjoying their activity or dumped somewhere else but all in a natural park of some kind." Picking up a separate note, Reid read...

"Besides Naton, there was Jason Conwell who was hiking, Dennis Farlow...hunting, Lincoln Jessup...skiing, Jasper Kingston...kayaking...well you get the picture. All told there have been over 15 bodies. There could be more but due to the unsubs propensity to dispose of the bodies in nature parks, it could take a long time for a body to surface," He finished, grimly.

"How certain are we these deaths are from the same killer?" Gideon asked Reid.

"About 90%, even with significant decomp of some of the bodies and the differing views of how they died. All were killed in the same manner...jugular slashed by something rough rather than smooth, bodies torn up without use of a weapon...at least not one that can be identified. Including all the other parameters I've already mentioned, the odds are very good it's the same person. The cops in each of these cases aren't connecting them to others because of the length of time between kills and because too many of them are writing them off as animal kills even though their coroners can't determine what kinds of animals could have done it."

"And we're certain it isn't?" Morgan asked.

Grimacing, Gideon tossed a file toward the man. "Here read it yourself. Face it Morgan, no way would an animal travel from Canada to here and just happen to pick the right kind of victim along the way. Also, if it were different animals as all those reports say, how did they manage to kill exactly the same way. No, it has to be some kind of trick but it's definitely the same killer." A killer that isn't human that is, he thought bitterly but he couldn't tell anyone here that.

"And in none of the cases, no one was able to identify the sex of the killer?" Morgan asked, looking through the file Gideon had given him. He was having a hard time getting into the head of this particular unsub. None of the clues were making any sense.

"No, which is what I don't understand. Even if there were mistakes in processing, the fact none of the labs have been able to determine sex or even if it's human or animal we're dealing with is just impossible. According to the report from Greg Sanders, Las Vegas CSI lab tech, he had rerun the tests ten times and still couldn't get a viable DNA sample. I could tell he was becoming truly frustrated by the tone of his report, but studying what he'd done, I can't detect any mistake on his part," Reid said, scowling. "What's equally weird about all this is the sample are all degraded. That's impossible as well especially with this new body. It should have given up the perfect picture of our unsub, but again...nothing but a degraded sample from every part of the body. That is simply impossible," he finished, frustrated and extremely puzzled. This case was just plain weird and it made him uncomfortable.

"Not impossible, Reid. It just means something has contaminated the samples. We just have to discover how the unsub accomplished that particular trick," Morgan assured him. "However, I do agree the fault doesn't lie with lab as Vegas CSI is known as the best in the country with the highest conviction rate, so this must seem like a slap to their credibility not being able to make the identification."

"Exactly, which is why all this is making no sense. What's even more confusing is the morgue reports can't determine the weapon used to kill the victims. Everything keeps pointing to some kind of animal but we know that's impossible as we have proof this unsub has been moving steadily downward. That's definitely not an animal but a thinking being. Where they're ultimate destination is, we have no idea but we need to stop them here if we can," Reid said in disgust.

"Whoever our unsub is they are extremely smart and clever and I suspect they may possess lab skills of their own to be able to hide the way they killed the victims and disguising their own DNA...which I admit is truly reaching into the twilight zone but I can't find an explanation for what we are seeing here." Reid rubbed his face and sighed, he could feel a headache coming on.

"Adding to the confusion is the fact none of the victims had been robbed nor sexually assaulted in anyway," Hotch said flatly. "I think we need to just start at the beginning again...go look at the bodies for ourselves, recheck lab results, re-interview wits and check out the scenes. Maybe we'll be able to shake something new out of the woodwork."

Calling to their member on the phone, Morgan asked, "Baby doll! Got anything else for us?"

"Unfortunately, no! All CSI labs, police reports and morgues are just as bare of the facts we need as Las Vegas has been. Nothing to add to what Spencer already told you. I can tell you everyone I sought the information from were just as angry and frustrated as Dr. Grissom's people. A general feeling of helplessness is being felt over this case which is not a particularly stellar endorsement of our success in solving this," Garcia said with annoyance and dismay in her voice.

"Never say never, Garcia. We've had difficult cases before this, it's just a bit more complex this time is all," Morgan reassured her.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Hotch felt the hair on his skin raise every time he stared at the crime scene photos of the victims. The sheer savagery displayed was not the same as what he was used to seeing from serial killers.

That wasn't to say they didn't see some horrific methods of death by the truly sick minded but those had some pattern to them and all were done by some kind of weapon. However, these victims had been ripped to shreds by teeth! That had been confirmed on all the dead. No human could rip another that way.

Oh sure, they'd seen people pulled apart by machines, fingers and toes bitten off as well as noses and ears. And they had to work with bodies that had been touched by animals after death, however, in all these cases, the victims had been partially eaten, bones crushed by teeth, and everyone of the them had been alive at the time of the attack. There was no doubt of that. Human teeth, no matter how strong, was incapable of doing that. And the animals that could should have been easily identified by now but that wasn't the case.

He didn't like this case at all. Ever since Gideon had asked him to accept it, he'd been uneasy. His unique senses were warning him of a danger unlike any he'd been in before except once. That one time had been when he'd been a very young agent and it had left a lasting impression on him. Now that eerie feeling was there again and it wasn't Gideon (he'd already known there was something odd about the man), no, it was when he'd met Dr. Grissom and saw that same otherness he got from Gideon that he knew he was in for a very strange time indeed

Giving Gideon a sidelong glance, Hotch chewed his lip in deep thought. It wasn't that he suspected Gideon of any wrongdoing, on the contrary, he knew the man to be honest, hard working, compassionate, and an excellent profiler. It took a certain talent to get into the minds of the seriously disturbed but he'd begun to wonder if the man's uncanny skill had a lot more to do with his odd aura than with his trained abilities. Hotch had seen that aura on their first meeting but chose to ignore it as the man did an exemplary job and was an excellent team member. Sighing inwardly, he strongly suspected Gideon had a different agenda than the one he'd used to get them to take this case.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Not aware of Hotch's uneasiness, Gideon looked over all the reports again, trying to tease anything he could from them. The fact they couldn't identify anything about the unsub wasn't normal at all. The sooner he could get away from the others, the sooner he could meet with his contact here and possibly find some real answers.

It wasn't until another hour had passed before Hotch decided they should break up into teams to cover more ground faster. Morgan and Reid would go to the morgue and check the scenes again while he and Elle Greenaway would interview all the wits that had been in contact with this last body.

He'd intended Gideon to go with them but was only moderately surprised the man had other plans. How he could have other business here was yet another mystery to add to the many Hotch had about Gideon's true reasons for being here in Las Vegas.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Frowning distractedly, Gideon walked out of the building and to the vehicle the others left him. Having been here before, he headed, confidently, out of the city.

The drive was about thirty minutes and led him into a small bedroom community that held a scattering of log and adobe homes surrounding a small strip mall containing a mailing place, a mom and pop café, a Taco Bell and Arbys, a Chevron, mini-mart, 7-eleven, and movie rental place. At end of the main street was the post office and library. He kept going straight before turning off on a road with only four houses along it. The last house at the end of the cul-d-sac was his destination. Beyond the end of the street the desert spread a great distance. It was bordered by a low range of hills with a small forest starting about halfway and running up over its top. A perfect habitat for a lone wolf.

The log home looked fairly good sized, possibly two bedrooms with a porch at the front and a small green yard, edged with natural plants. To the right of this was a cement driveway that led to a single car garage.

Only a little of the backyard could be seen from the road but that small peek showed him an area that had been left natural, no lawn, no fence, though there was a mountain of rocks bordering one side of the property that served as a sort of natural divider between the house and the neighbor whose home was some thirty yards away, providing much needed privacy for the wolf.

Gideon parked in the familiar drive and climbed out, pausing to sniff the air and getting a nose full of the dry desert air, the scent of prey, the barest spoor of coyotes and, of course, a fellow shifter.

Closing the door to his vehicle, he walked up the sidewalk, paved with slate, up to the porch, taking the two steps up to the door and ringing the bell. The porch had a small outdoor café table with comfortable chair set to the left of the front door, a windchime hanging from the eaves sang softly with the breeze and a huge spiked plant stood in a decorated pot to the right.

Grissom opened the door moments later, smiling at his guest, and gesturing for Gideon to enter. The two exchanged a greeting that would have caused raised eyebrows from their co-workers. Behind the closed door, the two alphas leaned close and sniffed loudly behind each others ear then stepped back and did the human shaking of hands before walking off toward a comfortable and homey looking living space.

A quick glance around revealed an individual who was calm, relaxed and who liked to be surrounded by books, bugs, and quiet as evidenced by the number of scientific tomes that were on shelves and on the coffee table, the bug display cases neatly placed on a few of the walls, and the fact, he had no TV or radio going...just silence.

It eased the tension inside Gideon being in such an inviting place...the vibes...as Reid would say...speaking to him of safety and peace. He took a seat in a very comfortable wing chair while Grissom faced him from behind the coffee table on the couch.

The old wolf gave his guest one of his rare, small smiles. "You feel at ease." A statement not a question.

Gideon flashed an equally small twitch of his lips. "I always do in your place. But on this trip, I don't think I realized how tense I was until the moment I came through your door and breathed in the comforting scents of your home into my nose. Most would be shocked that we feel so comfortable with each other considering our species don't normally get along."

"I take that as a compliment. I feel the same about you and always have. It is good to see you again Gideon though I could have wished this reunion was under better circumstances."

"Yes, it has been far too long since you left your pack for the isolation of Las Vegas but it seems that's what you needed after the loss of Teanna. And, I too wish this meeting were under more friendlier conditions. But it isn't and I readily admit, what you've already told me has my hackles raised. A rogue that can't be identified is cause for serious concern and worry. Have you been able to at least figure out what species we're dealing with since we last spoke?"

Grissom shook his head and scowled. "No, and the scents at the crime scenes are wrapped in a truly nasty scent the likes of which I've never encountered before."

His visitor frowned. "I'd better check that out myself. There's a possibility I might have encountered it during my missions with the BAU."

"My thought exactly. Tonight good enough for you?"

"Don't you work?"

"Yes, but it's perfectly normal for me to want to revisit a site if I've new evidence or need a second look for myself. I suggest we meet up rather than go together unless you think otherwise?"

Gideon didn't answer right away. After a moments consideration, he said, "no, we should go together under legitimate purposes. My team would not question my desire to accompany you to the sites even after they've seen it themselves and gave me the info they've found, if any."

"If you wish, it's not a problem for me. Do you have time to talk for a little? I could make us some tea."

"I would like that. I don't expect to see my team until after lunch at least."

"Excellent, come to the kitchen and we'll talk while I fix our drinks." Grissom rose and turned toward the kitchen. The floor plan of his place was open with the living area at the front and a dining and kitchen at the rear. They passed a hall that obviously led to the bedrooms. Through the sliding glass doors of the dining area, Gideon could see a covered deck, more lawn furniture and chimes hanging and beyond that just desert.

"I sure missed the view here especially when we went running out in that empty expanse with the full moon shining," Gideon mused, his eyes distant, a hint of longing in his voice.

Grissom puttered around the kitchen but paused a moment to stare at Gideon. A small, sad smile tugged at his mouth as he continued his task.

"When was the last time you ran free?" he murmured, pouring water into a brewmaster and switching it to heat water only.

Gideon looked away from the view to eye the wolf. "Months...a year perhaps...either way, too long...been too many cases of late to take a break to stay at my cabin in the mountains."

"Not healthy which is why my escape is so readily available. When we finish our viewing of the scene, perhaps you'd like to return and run for a bit?"

His visitor frowned and was about to refuse but the lure of all that empty desert was too attractive. "Thank you." He paused and gave the wolf a direct stare. "May I have permission to run in your territory?" he asked more formally.

"You have my permission to run and hunt in my territory. My home is your home for the length of your stay," Grissom said with equal formality.

Gideon was surprised but quickly bowed his head. "My thanks for your generosity."

Grissom nodded back then served their tea. "Would you like sugar and/or lemon?"

"Just honey if you have it, please."

"Certainly." Grissom went to a cupboard and took out a little bear filled with honey. "Here you are."

"Thanks," his guest poured honey into his steaming cup of tea and handed the bear back.

"Would you like to sit outside as we talk?"

"No, I'm afraid I would become to...distracted..." Gideon declined, sighing a little in regret.

Grissom smiled. "Understood, so let's go back to the living area." He walked away carrying his tea, Gideon following him closely.

They sat on each end of the couch and drank their tea for a moment before beginning to trade stories about what they'd been doing since last they saw each other.


	3. Chapter 3

**CASE OF THE WEREWOLF KILLER**

**Chapter 3: On the Hunt for a Killer**

"Don't you get lonely at times," Gideon asked, sipping his tea.

Grissom sighed and stared off into the distance before answering, "sometimes...quite a few shifters pass through here of course, it's Vegas after all, I watch but do nothing as long as they continue on their way after they've had their fun. Once in a while, one of them catches my interest and I'll invite them to spend time with me."

"Oh, I'll just bet you do," Gideon smirked a little.

The wolf had the grace to blush. "Well, no man's an island nor wolf for that matter ... anyway that's been good enough for some time until the last few years. I began to realize I was becoming far too detached and my team noticed. I found myself being dragged out to the most outrageous places but other times it was just for a shared meal or birthday party. It broke the monotony of my personal life and I freely admit, I enjoyed it."

Gideon smiled. "I've had that from my team as well. As you know I chose not to mate and tired of belonging to a group but here I am part of one anyway, though human. I don't know, humans aren't so bad, though I too make time to be with a shifter. Wouldn't do to lose control because I didn't take care of some basic needs."

Grissom snorted, amused. "Oh yes...mustn't allow those to get out of control. Unfortunately, my more ... shall we say ... aggressive needs are being met more frequently than I like as an increase of unwanted shifters have been crossing my territory of late."

"Oh, what kind of unwanteds?"

"Drug dealers!" Grissom growled, distaste on his face.

"Ahh...I see...barren areas attract that business more than others certainly and unfortunately, Las Vegas is a hot bed for that kind of traffic," Gideon commiserated, disgusted that shifters would lower themselves to being involved with the humans worst vice.

"Tell me about it and the last undesirable not only brought his drug problem here, he also had the audacity to kill his connection here as well."

Gideon hissed and his eyes flashed suddenly at such a flagrant violation of someone's territory.

"Yes, my feelings exactly. Unfortunately, this was when my job crossed with my desire to make an example of the interloper. I was called to the scene and knew immediately what was responsible...a young wolf who was still in the area. I intended to hunt him as soon as I finished the scene and had my tech leave. But that young fool forced me to reveal myself to save my tech, Nick, as the cub returned and threatened the human. I was furious and killed him as he tried to run off. So now I have to brief my young human on our kind." Grissom sighed and shook his head.

"Ouch! It happens, but it certainly causes no end of problems when it does. Is he trustworthy?"

"Yes. Extremely so. As a matter of fact, I think he suspects what we're hunting as he approached me at end of shift to urge me to have 'the talk'."

"You haven't had the conversation yet? How long ago was the revealing incident?" Gideon asked surprised and concerned.

"About four months ago but we've just been so busy...then the killings began, there just hasn't been time. I need to do it soon though or he'll come here and tag me," Grissom sighed, finishing his tea.

"Though I'm certain you are aware of this, I feel compelled to warn you anyway that you can't keep a human in the dark long. They are persistent and capable of making things infinitely worse in their driving need for answers," Gideon warned softly.

"Believe me, I do know that. I take it you've faced this sort of thing before?"

"Yes, but, unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, the person I trusted with that information was killed shortly after by one of the killers we hunt. I very nearly exacted my own form of justice against that sick bastard," Gideon growled, the anger still recent enough to rankle.

Grissom reached out and touched Gideon on the arm, gently. "I'm sorry for that and I'm glad you didn't give into the urge. It would be far too easy for us to become judge and executioner for the humans and there lies the seeds of our destruction."

Gideon touched Grissom's hand and nodded. "Trust me, I know that only too well but it's really hard in our business to just ignore our instincts to seek immediate justice with teeth and fang. It rankles so much to see those creatures just being locked away and sometimes being let out to do it all over again." He shook his head and sighed as he leaned back against the cushions again.

Grissom leaned away. "Yes, well, conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be looking," he said straight faced.

Gideon blinked at him then snorted with laughter. "Where did you hear that little gem?"

"Something I read that seemed appropriate for the moment," Grissom smiled, glad to see his friend's anger fading.

"Oh yes, it's perfect alright," Gideon said sourly, though still amused.

"So I need to make time to speak with Nick but this case is really got us twisted up," Grissom said, annoyed about their failure to identify the culprit.

"I can certainly understand. Hopefully, together we'll find the answer."

"...and before the next full moon," Grissom grumbled.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Gideon left Grissom an hour later and made his way back to police headquarters. J.J. was the only one there and she was trying to collect enough data to make a coherent media report but wasn't having a lot of luck with it.

"Oh Gideon, glad you're back. Anything new?" She asked, frustration plain in her voice.

"I'm sorry, no. Having problems coming up with a news alert?"

"Yes. Without a profile and not knowing what sex to look for, there really isn't anything we can tell the public or the police to look for. This has never happened to us before."

"I know. I'm not sure we can tell them anything right now. What they're hearing on the news will have to suffice for now."

"What? That a 'werewolf killer' is out there hunting them? That's what's being bandied about at the moment," J.J. exclaimed, annoyed.

"Easy, I know, but at least half the population or more have written off that rather gossip rag sort of report. And I don't know how we can warn the outdoors type not to indulge in their favorite hobby without some kind of idea of what they're supposed to be afraid of," Gideon said, spreading his hands to indicate his feelings on the subject too.

J.J. sighed and sank down in a chair, dropping the folder to the table. "So another case of 'wait and see' huh?"

"I'm afraid so."

She just shook her head. It bothered her that she couldn't warn anyone of the danger but Gideon was right. They had nothing to tell the public and would have to hope the killer kept to his habit of moonlight killing since that was more than two weeks away yet. Maybe they'd get lucky and catch the bastard before that.

Gideon felt sorry for J.J. but though he knew it was a shifter at fault even that knowledge wouldn't have helped protect the public. The cops wouldn't have believed it and neither would the public so warning them wouldn't have worked anyway.

At that moment, the rest of the team arrived but the looks on their faces told them they also had no luck getting any new data that would help them. It was a dispirited group that sat around the conference table and shared what they'd discovered.

"I can't believe we're this stymied. The lab has done everything they can to try and determine who is the killer...no luck there...and Dr. Robbins couldn't shed any new light on what killed the victims except to say it looked just like the claws of a wolf. One of the techs suggested perhaps the killer had a wolf fetish and was using a clawed pull on glove. They'd had such a killer before who used a bear's claw to kill a victim but it still didn't explain the teeth on the rib cages and other bones of some of the victims...so nothing there either," Morgan said, disgusted.

"We still have more interviews to do. We may get lucky and find a small crumb of information there," Hotch said but his voice indicated he didn't hold much hope of that. "Did you find out anything, Gideon?"

"No, sorry. My lead didn't pan out either. This case is really getting under my skin. I know you've gone through everything thoroughly but I need to see the scenes myself and the bodies. Dr. Grissom wants to be there with me as he also feels responsible for not being able to find anything."

"It's not his fault..." Reid objected immediately.

"He knows but it is a point of personal pride for him. I won't argue. He's a very intelligent and observant man. We just might get lucky. Right now we could use some kind of break." Gideon sighed and stretched his arms above his head. He hoped he wasn't just talking into the wind here. Even for a shifter case, this just didn't sound right.

Hotch wondered if Gideon was telling the truth. If he was, then things were far worse than he thought. If it was something outside the realm of the normal, what could simple humans do if the supernatural member of their group felt helpless? He shuddered inside. 'We're screwed!'

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

When evening shift began, the others had gone to their rooms to get some rest and eat dinner. Gideon had grabbed a bite and met Grissom in his office when the other man had arrived for work. They headed out together to the morgue.

Robbins was working on another body and noted Grissom and one of the feds walking toward the body storage area. Frowning, he paused in his work and went out to see what they were up to. They'd already pulled the last victim's body out and were looking it over.

"You know that's been the most popular corpse around lately," he joked morbidly, hobbling over to them, leaning heavily on his cane.

Grissom looked up and nodded at Robbins. "Yes, I know but I wanted another look. This is Agent Gideon."

Robbins nodded. "Well, hope you see something I didn't. I'm tired of peering around into it and finding nothing that will help the case. Let me know if you have any questions," he said then turned around and returned to the body he was autopsing.

"He feels bad about this case, too," Gideon murmured when they were alone again.

"We all do. Now let's see if you smell something you recognize that I didn't."

"Right," Gideon leaned closer and used his nose. He jerked back and his nose wrinkled in disgust. "Fah! What is that?"

"That is what I hoped you'd identify but obviously it's not familiar to you either," Grissom sighed, unhappily.

"No, I've never encountered that kind of nasty smell before. It's worse than skunk and that's saying something. You were right though, it had a pungent, oiliness to it but that's all I get."

"Want to check the other body?"

"Might as well. The scent could be different." Though he wasn't so sure of that as Grissom shut the drawer on the first body and opened the next. Gideon sniffed cautiously and his eyes nearly crossed. "Gah! That's worse than the other. I wonder if that's part of what's wrong with the shifter or a product of what happens when its saliva breaks down," he said thoughtfully as he watched the other man close the drawer.

"Now that's a thought," Grissom said, staring at the wall of bodies in thought. "I never considered that aspect before but unfortunately that still doesn't help us get a fix on the perp."

"True. So the dump sites next?"

"Yes." They walked out and headed for Grissom's SUV.

The drive took about thirty minutes and was done in silence as both were lost in their own thoughts about the case. Arriving at the remote site, they climbed out and walked past the crime scene tape. They paused and looked carefully around, listening.

"No one about...change?" Gideon asked.

"Yes, our human noses just aren't good enough to tell us what we need to know," Grissom nodded. His form altered within seconds and he stood towering some seven feet in the air as he stood on legs that bent oddly with a body that looked sort of humanoid. He sniffed the air.

His companion was much shorter, only about six feet tall and slimmer in built, had a shorter muzzle and short soft fur. The wolf looked down at his companion. "Left or right?" His voice deep and gruff.

"Left," came the higher pitched voice of the other shifter.

They immediately split up and sniffed carefully around their section of the scene. Grissom tracked around the site of the body while Gideon went further afield. Some minutes later, he yowled an eerie cry fetching Grissom quickly to his side to see what he'd found.

"The scent is weird and it goes up that way," Gideon said, pointing with a clawed paw. "Want to follow it?"

Grissom looked around and sniffed the air while listening again intently. It was really isolated and quite dark out...for humans anyway. "I think we'd better. Base form will be faster."

"Agreed." In the blink of an eye, Gideon changed shape again and a cougar ran flat out for the hills ahead followed by a huge white wolf.

From a high hill downwind of the pair, a man lay on the ground with a pair of high powered night binoculars. His breath sucked in when he saw the pair transform to their biped form then jolt minutes later when he witnessed their change to a four footed form.

"I knew it!" Hotchner hissed softly to himself as he watched the pair race off into the distance obviously following a scent trail.


	4. Chapter 4

**CASE OF THE WEREWOLF KILLER**

**Chapter 4: Deadly Encounter**

Hotch's body lay still but his mind was on overdrive. Okay, so I know that Gideon is a shifter but so is Dr. Grissom which confirms my suspicion that our killer isn't human. So, now what do I do? He raised the binoculars again and looked off in the distance, hoping to see the pair but they had disappeared completely from view.

Sighing, he slowly got off the ground and dusted his clothes off. Instead of his normal business suit, he was wearing a pair of sweatpants, a long sleeve t-shirt with a jacket over it and tennis shoes. He quietly walked back to the rental vehicle and climbed inside to sit and think. Leaving the door open, he listened to the sound of the night. In the distance, a lone coyote called but no one answered it.

He stared across the desert landscape that he could barely see. Alright, so my options are to confront them tonight or speak to Gideon privately. It would make more sense to speak to them both tonight and get an idea where this investigation is going and what the teams part will be since its obvious we humans aren't going to solve it without input from them.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the loud scream of a feline then the howl of a wolf but it was the next sound that nearly sent him running in terror, a roar he'd never heard before in his life. The mixed cries told of a battle going on somewhere in the mountains. It went on for some minutes until the cry of the cat then the wail of wolf signaled they'd been injured before silence fell for only a second before being replaced by the many howls of a pack of coyotes and the single roar of whatever that creature was.

The ruckus had been so sudden and loud, despite the distance, Hotch had all but leaped from his vehicle with his binoculars in hand. Frantically, he searched the night landscape but could see nothing moving. His heart pounded in this throat as the noise crescendoed, went silent then started again in different voices until that too went silent. That was even scarier than the noise had been. He worried Gideon and Grissom had found the killer but hadn't survived the encounter.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Gideon picked up that god awful odor and followed it up into the foothills. A lone coyote scented them and called but neither he nor Grissom answered, not wanting to give themselves away to their prey.

The smell got stronger and more nastier the closer they'd gotten to the rocky hillside. They'd entered a small scrub forest and paused. Searching around for footprints, it was Grissom who spotted them first. They both studied the foot pattern but were confused, neither the scent nor the pattern could be matched to any shifter nor animal they were familiar with, though it had some similarities to a bear. What was this thing?

Giving each other a look, they turned and followed the tracks. It went further up into the hills then the tracks vanished over the rocky surfaces where it began to climb. Here they slowed and Gideon led the way, being far more agile over rocky terrain than the wolf.

Gideon was the first to come upon their quarry. He screamed in fear, eyes showing white, fur standing on end, head down, ears back and fangs totally exposed.

Grissom surged upward to his side and also bristled, displaying fangs at the thing, a deep rumble of fear issuing from his throat.

The thing stood on four feet, was a dirty gray, with a thick shaggy coat. It looked like something from a nightmare. It's body resembled a bear, about the size of a small grizzly, its face was rather wolf-like and it's tail was more like a bobcat's. All in all, an impossible looking thing with very long, sharp teeth which it bared at them.

Suddenly it roared then charged at them. Gideon screamed and leaped straight up, coming down behind the thing and biting it's rear in passing while Grissom dodged the charge and bit the thing's shoulder before dancing out of the way quickly.

However, despite drawing first blood and moving fast, the two shifters were no match for the speed the creature displayed. It screamed in anger at the pain, reared up on its hind legs and swatted Gideon with its massive paw sending the cougar flying down the hill to hit a tree. Grissom only had time to duck and avoid a similar fate but not for long as the creature moved with the speed of a viper and caught the wolf under his rib cage, lifted him up and threw him up the hillside, where he landed among the rocks in a limp heap.

Before it could finish off its opponents, a pack of coyotes rushed down the hillside toward it setting up a loud ruckus but not coming too close as they badgered and harassed it. Annoyed the thing roared again, swatted uselessly at a few that dared to get close, then dropped to its ponderous feet and galloped away up the hillside, disappearing over the top in seconds.

The coyotes ceased their wild howling when the thing vanished, then turned back to the injured shifters. The pack eyed the cougar warily and wouldn't go close to it but they were familiar with the wolf so went to its side and licked and whined worriedly around it, trying to rouse him.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o-o~o~o~o~o~

Grissom's head felt like it was going to explode, the pain was that intense, as he lay on the rocks unable to move. He could feel the hot breaths and wet tongues of the coyotes as they whined and worried at him in concern.

It was their attentions that had brought him back to consciousness but it wasn't much of a blessing. His shape shifting abilities had kept him from being killed outright but he'd been hurt badly enough, it was taking those abilities some time to heal him. He could feel broken ribs which made breathing difficult. He daren't change his form until most of his serious injuries had been healed so he lay there panting and waiting. The coyotes whining stopped, apparently relieved he was awake again but continued with their licking which felt good to his sore body.

Two concerns filled his thoughts as he recovered: One, where was Gideon and was he alright and two, what was that thing and where had it gone?

Down the hillside, against the base of a scrub pine tree, Gideon lay unconscious. His body was healing and he was more fortunate than Grissom to be unaware of just how badly he'd been hurt.

It seemed like forever but was probably only twenty minutes before Grissom was finally able to stand on his feet. He still hurt and his head pounded but he was alive and mobile. With the coyotes still hovering around him, he limped slowly down the hillside to the tree where he could see Gideon laying.

It took him five minutes to traverse the distance but finally he did and collapsed, exhausted from the short walk, beside his companion, his ribs complaining and sending stabs of pain each time he took a breath. Dropping his huge head down, he began to lick the cat's face.

The world swam into focus for Gideon and the first things he was able to note was his head ached appallingly, ribs were very sore, and he thought a rear leg was broken. The next thing he noticed was the warm breath on his face, the familiar scent, and the comforting licking that soothed his aching head a bit.

Slowly he raised his head and stared up at his wolf companion. Grissom didn't look so good either. Oh joy! That thing had been like a mack truck. It was a wonder they weren't both dead. Come to think of it, why weren't they? Where was the thing?

Unfortunately, they couldn't speak to each other as they weren't in a form that could talk so they could only eye each other and wait until they healed enough to go back to their vehicle.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

A terrified Hotch, hurriedly climbed back into his vehicle and sent it flying down the mountain at break neck speed. His heart was pounding hard in his chest as he raced to reach the SUV parked at the crime scene. His only thought was to get down the mountain and be waiting to offer what aid he could when they returned...if they returned.

It was that worry that had him scared enough to risk killing himself getting down the mountain, doing over forty miles an hour on a road that was little more than a, rutted, dirt, access road. But no matter what his speed, it still took him twenty minutes to navigate the steep trail before he finally reached the highway. Now he could go faster as he made for the turnoff leading to the natural park.

Coming to a skidding halt next to the SUV, dust filled the air once he parked and turned off the engine. He waited a moment for the dust to clear before climbing out of his car with the binoculars in his hand. and climbed out. Staring around, he saw nothing so raised the glasses and peered urgently toward the area he'd seen the pair take into the hills.

A long twenty minutes passed before something appeared on the horizon heading towards him. The distance was too great for him to see what might be coming, but as he continued to watch the objects got closer and closer, until he was able to make out a truly strange sight. Moving slowly and with a coyote pack surrounding them, limped a cougar and big white wolf.

Hotch pulled the binocs away and shook his head a moment before peering through the glasses again. No he hadn't been imaging it. The coyotes were escorting the injured shape shifters, staying by their sides despite getting closer to human scented ground.

When the group were some twenty feet from the human, the wolf raised his head and huffed a growl of some kind. The coyotes responded with yips then turned away and left at a run back the way they'd come.

The two shape shifters continued their slow walk toward Hotch before, finally, stopping less than five feet from him and the vehicles, eyeing him warily. Hotch made no sudden moves except to nod at the pair, showing he knew who they were.

"Are you two alright?" he asked, carefully. Close up, he could see blood, dirt and pine needles in their fur. Both swayed on their four feet and their expressions showed they were in considerable discomfort. Not knowing what else to do ... he wasn't a vet after all ... Hotch offered, "Would water help you?"

Gideon's large green eyes blinked then he bobbed his head. Tongue lolling, he panted in pain and decided laying down was indicated so he sank down as slowly as he could, letting go a whine when his healing broken leg complained at the movement.

Grissom was feeling nearly as bad but sitting or dropping to a chest position wouldn't be comfortable with his healing broken ribs on the left side, so he carefully sank down and rolled to his right side. A whine of pain escaped him and he panted. Damn, that really hurt!

Laying his binoculars on the dash, Hotch reached in and opened the cooler he'd brought. Pulling out two bottles of water, he turned and walked to the two animals and knelt down. He set one bottle on the ground and twisted the cap off the other in his hand. He carefully poured water into Gideon's open mouth, letting him swallow each mouthful before pouring more until the cat signaled he was through by closing his mouth.

Hotch put the lid back on the bottle and set it down. He grabbed the other one and took the top off. Here was going to be a more difficult challenge. He went to kneel next to Grissom's massive head and very gently lifted it up. Grissom growled in pain but otherwise allowed Hotch to raise him up enough to take in the cool water his parched mouth was craving.

Gil finished the bottle and sighed. Hotch carefully laid the wolf's head down and sat waiting, eyeing them both with deep concern. He wondered what he'd have to do if they needed medical help.

He needn't have worried. The water helped speed the healing process so within ten minutes the pair was able to breath easier and new strength poured in and with it, less pain. Another fifteen minutes, it was Grissom who felt his body was ready to shift.

He winced as his human form returned. Moving each limb in a slow stretching motion he worked the kinks and stiffness out of each of his muscles. The last of his injuries had repaired themselves during the shift but he was still sore. A good meal would remedy that.

Gideon took a bit longer to recover. Hotch and Grissom watched him closely and were relieved when the cougar morphed back into its human form some ten minutes later.

Stretching just as the wolf shifter had done, Gideon grimaced at the twinge in his leg, but overall he felt okay. He sighed and walked past Hotch toward Grissom's SUV to get redressed. Grissom followed him and moments later the pair were decent again. Hotch had averted his eyes from the naked males, uncomfortable around them but surprised by their nonchalant behavior at their nudeness.

Hotch made no move to follow the pair, remaining by his vehicle and waiting for them to come back to him.

Gideon was the first to return and accepted another bottle of water from Hotch then went and got the first one still on the ground where he'd lain. Finishing the first, he followed with the second, draining it in one go.

Grissom came up to Hotch and nodded his thanks when the man gave him another bottle to drink. He said nothing, eyeing the man with curiosity as he drank down the cool water.

Gideon, however, had a question. "How long?"

Hotch didn't misunderstand. "Ever since you joined the team. I didn't know what you were, only that you weren't exactly human."

"Hmmm, interesting...a sensitive," Grissom said slowly, a gleam of interest in his eyes. "I've heard of the ability and that some humans supposedly possessed the talent but have never had the opportunity of meeting a real one before."

"Oh, is that what he is? I knew such humans could detect the supernatural world but never dreamed one would be on the team I'd be assigned to," Gideon said, mildly amused and surprised.

"Sensitive?" Hotch asked, frowning.

"Yes...one who is born with a bit of something extra in their brains that allows them to sense the presence of the supernatural," Grissom explained.

Hotch looked surprised and a little relieved.

"Seems you guessed that, but never knew what it was called, eh?" Grissom surmised, mildly amused. "Bet you can see our auras, hmm?"

Hotch nodded distractedly. Since puberty, he'd known there was something rather odd about himself especially when he'd tell his friends about the strange aura he could see surrounding some of the people around him but his friends eyed him with derision and said he was crazy. Even when he'd joined the FBI, he never said he could see things others couldn't. He loved his job too much. However, now that he knew it was the supernatural he was able to detect, he was relieved and scared at the same time. How much trouble would this cause him? Was he in danger now? Well, who better to ask? He thought turning to the shifters and voicing his concerns.

Grissom nodded gravely. "You're right to be concerned. It's a dangerous talent to have without training. The first time you mistakenly noticed a being who didn't want to be singled out would be the end of you. There are a lot of nasty things out there humans are not aware of and are better off not knowing in general. Training will ensure you'll not make that mistake."

"I agree. And since I'm the only supernatural on the team, I'll have to be your teacher. We'll get to it when we have time. Until then, don't acknowledge anything you sense without checking with me first," Gideon warned.

"Believe me, I won't," Hotch said with feeling. "Now that I do know about shifters existing, how does that affect me and our dealings?"

Gideon and Grissom glanced at each other a moment before Gideon answered. "It's not the first time we've been discovered and it certainly won't be the last. It happens all the time though we try to keep that from happening as much as possible.. Like Grissom said, it's better no one believes we exist because when too many people know about us they panic and try to hunt us down and kill us. That's happened before in our ancient past."

"Unfortunately, it still occurs to this day. There exists a diehard group of supernatural hunters who feel were a threat to humans. Don't get me wrong, they do have their uses. After all, there are evil supernatural creatures that are a threat to humans and it is they that need to be hunted and killed. However, the hunters seemed to forget there are those in the supernatural world that just want to be left alone and have no interest in human kind and that not all shape shifters are bad. So they are a thorn in our side at times," Grissom added, a dark look in his eyes.

"I happen to know of two hunters that aren't that bad," Gideon interjected.

Grissom gave him a look of disbelief.

"No, I'm quite serious. I met them when my team was hunting a pedophile who liked little girls. They caught my otherness right away but instead of shooting first and asking questions later, they actually spoke with me. I told them what I was and what I did for a living. That rather shook them to find out shifters were productive citizens who just want to live our lives just as humans do. I was pleased to discover these two young men were already beginning to realize not all the things they hunted deserved it. They were already questioning their father's teachings by the time I met them. I think it's a good sign that the young are stopping and questioning now. Means things could get a bit easier for us in the future," Gideon said, earnestly.

Grissom didn't look convinced. "I'll reserve judgement on that. Who are these two so I can keep an eye out for them."

"Sam and Dean Winchester. They're rather young, in their late twenties, I'd say, but their eyes reflect a much older mind set. By their demeanor, I could see they'd already lived a harsh and deadly life and have no roots anywhere. They chase the things that hunt mankind with no hope of finding happiness themselves. There was one thing that bothered me, though. The one named Sam seems to have an aura of evil about him but he's not evil...I'd swear it. So I have to guess he'd come in contact with something nasty and it still clings to him but his spirit is fighting it. I only hope one day he'll win free of it."

Hotch stared at Gideon with horror. "He's possessed?"

"Not exactly, but I'm not a witch or sorcerer so I couldn't really say," Gideon said, shrugging.

His boss grimaced and shook his head. "Sounds like these hunters are not so ordinary either."

"I think you may be right. They could have the same ability as you, but they were trained to use that talent by their hunter parent or mentor," Gideon observed, realizing for the first time that this could be why hunters were able to detect them so easily.

Running a hand through his hair, Hotch was feeling a bit overwhelmed. "I'm not sure I ever want to meet any of them any time soon. Just how many kinds of supernatural beings are there out there?"

"Too many to name. Let's just say every fairy tale, myth, and horror story you've read or heard about are usually based on reality," Gideon told him.

Hotch shuddered at the mere thought of ghosts, vampires, ghouls, were creatures, witches, demons, etc., truly existing. He almost wished he was still ignorant of this side of existence, fully understanding now why Grissom had said it was better humans didn't know.

"You still didn't answer the question on what happens to me now?" He asked again.

Gideon smiled gently and gave him a gentle swat to the back. "Don't worry. We only ask that you keep our secret that's all. We trust you. Besides, you're considered a bit on the supernatural side yourself, though its more paranormal actually. It's somewhat of an advantage to be able to 'see' that other world. Might come in handy one day in your job. You never know."

Hotch rolled his eyes. "I doubt that and I wouldn't want to use it anyway." The two shifters chuckled lightly. They knew the poor man wouldn't be able to ignore his talent...much as he might want to. Pushing that disturbing fact away, Hotch returned to the subject that was of over riding importance to them right now. His so called 'talent' could wait.

"Was it our serial killer you found up there in the mountains?" He asked.

Grissom bared his teeth a moment in memory. "Yes! And I can safely say I've never seen anything like that thing before in my life. I couldn't even hazard a guess what it might be."

"I concur. Not even my worst nightmare could have conjured that! It terrified me and I don't scare easily. Did you see how fast it moved?" Gideon shuddered.

"How could I forget? We were extremely lucky the coyotes are friends of mine and were nearby to lend a paw. Though I was out cold, I suspect they were the ones to harry it off us or it wouldn't have hesitated to kill us," Grissom said, grimly.

"Then I owe them a deer. I can't thank them enough," Gideon said, feelingly.

Grissom smiled wanly. "They'd appreciate that and be more friendly to you next time."

Hotch interjected, "So its extremely deadly, inhumanly fast, unknown, and definitely not human. How do we stop it?"

Gideon sighed and shook his head. "I haven't a clue."


	5. Chapter 5

**CASE OF THE WEREWOLF KILLER**

**Chapter 5: Calling in the Calvary **

Silence fell for a long moment before Hotch spoke again. "I know you're not going to like this but I feel strongly that our entire team know what we're hunting. Together they have the resources and minds to try and solve this."

Gideon stared at him, frowning, while Grissom scowled unhappily. Neither obviously, liked the idea at all.

"No, that's too many people in the government knowing about us," Grissom said flatly, shaking his head.

"Uh, actually, there is an agency within the FBI that I think might be very aware of yours and others existence," Hotch said, carefully.

"What?" Grissom gaped at him then snarled angrily, flashing fangs that made Hotch step back nervously from him. "That means we may have FBI spooks breathing down our necks as well as those misguided hunters."

"Wait! They don't hunt down the supernatural. That's not their job. On paper, I'm told they're supposed to work on cold cases with strange circumstances. However, it is the possibility of aliens that is their true mission. Mulder is certain we are being watched and infiltrated by visitors from space but so far he's not been able to prove it."

Grissom eyed him in askance. "Aliens, seriously?"

Hotch shrugged. "What's so outrageous about that? The supernatural is weird and outside the bounds of what humans think as normal."

"Yes, however, the supernatural are of this world and were here before mankind so it's not really the same," Grissom said, flatly.

"I won't debate it as I have no frame of reference to do so. I can only tell you what Agent Mulder seems to believe. Anyway, he and his partner Dr. Dana Scully are part of a secret FBI agency called the X-Files. Their stated job is to investigate and close marginalized, unsolved cases involving the unexplained death or disappearance of humans," Hotch explained quickly.

"So how does that get them involved with the supernatural much less aliens and how did you manage to meet these people?" Grissom asked.

"I was in charge of a case that dealt with the killing of a small group of scientists working on an environmental project high in the northern mountains of the Rockies in Colorado. It turned out some kind of creature had been disturbed and it was what had killed the scientists. Mulder and Scully had heard about it and were on scene when I arrived. That's how I met them and learned about what they do. My team had been slaughtered by the thing so it was only the three of us that managed to box the creature again. Mulder insured the facility would never been used again so the creature wouldn't be disturbed. But despite that encounter, I still didn't believe in the supernatural. I thought it was some kind of mutation." He sighed and shrugged.

With what he knew now, Hotch unhappily realized he could no longer ignore the fact that there were things outside the human norm and he would just have to accept it and move forward.

The two shifters shook their heads in angry surprise. Grissom asked, "So these two have discovered there are things beyond the norm and they just accept that? What do they do with this information?"

"From what Scully, who is still a skeptic and the scientist of the pair, has told me, she and Mulder handle what they find, record it, and seal the files. They don't try to convince anyone else of what they find, explaining more ordinary reasons for the killings to their superiors but they've been forced to accept that there are things they can't explain and just deal with it."

"They must be two exceptional people to have such a mind set," Gideon observed. "So they don't hunt the supernatural, it finds them during their investigations, is that it?"

"Yes. They dig up the data necessary to deal with whatever weirdness it is, dispatch it and move on to the next case. I can't verify any of this of course, except for the case I was involved with them on." Hotch shrugged.

"Does anyone else know about what they do?" Grissom asked, frowning.

"According to Mulder, no. He knows of no one else doing what they do and they've been at this job for over six years so I can only assume they should have run into someone by now. But again, I can't corroborate that."

Gideon and Grissom didn't look completely convinced but had no way to prove or disprove Mulder's belief either.

"Much as I hate it, this new creature is very powerful and must be stopped. We've not been successful in determining what it is so perhaps it's time we seek outside help. This Mulder and Scully sound like the right resource," Grissom reluctantly decided. "It might even be possible they've already heard of it's depredations since we've determined it's been killing for some time now."

Hotch's eyes rose a little in surprise. "I hadn't thought of that but you could be right. You want me to ask them?"

The two shifters gave each other a grim, questioning look. Involving a government agency in this made them uneasy, but overriding any of their personal concerns about exposure, were these irrefutable facts: they had no clue what this thing was, it had already killed many times and there was no doubt it would continue to do so, and could they even kill it? No way was it going to be captured and sent to some kind of secret lab...dead was a better option here.

An agreement passed between them. Grissom nodded at Hotch. "Yes, do that but don't mention shifters being involved. We've had enough exposure right now."

"I do have one other suggestion," Gideon added, hesitantly. He just knew Grissom wasn't going to like it.

Grissom frowned at his friend. "Yes?"

"If I'm able to find them, the Winchesters might be of some help here." He was right, Gil hated it.

"You've got to be kidding! It's bad enough having the FBI involved but hunters?" Grissom shook his head. "No. I won't agree to that unless we have no other options."

Gideon sighed but nodded. "Agreed. I just thought it might be another avenue. We'll hold it in the wings for now."

Hotch waited a moment then felt compelled to ask,"What about the team knowing?"

Gideon chewed his lip in concentration. "Well, since I have no plans on leaving the team, I guess it would be wise for them to know what I am. However, I won't speak for Dr. Grissom." He glanced over at his fellow shifter for an answer.

"My first response is no, however, this thing is far too powerful for either of us to take on and we're flying in the dark here on just what it is and how to destroy it before it kills again. Do you trust them with your life without exception?" Grissom asked slowly, his voice and manner grim and a little threatening.

Hotch felt the hairs on his neck rise again. Grissom was powerful, he could feel that on his skin but he had no clue whether Gideon was his equal.

"I vouch my life that this team, consisting of: Hotchner, Garcia, Morgan, Greenaway, Reid, and Jereau are totally trustworthy, honest and brave," Gideon said unhesitatingly.

Hotch added his own promise, "I won't tell anyone what I know of you if that is your desire Dr. Grissom."

Grissom studied them a moment. "My tech Nick Stokes has already accidentally learned I'm not human and needs to be briefed so this may be the opportunity I need to do that. But before I allow myself to be revealed to such a large group of humans, I propose I meet them as a wolf, determine by my own senses if I can trust them, then we'll go from there. Agreed?"

"Agreed and understood. How do you wish to do this and when?" Hotch asked.

The wolf turned his head upward and stared at the night sky. "I need to return to work...Gideon and you need sleep...let's do this tomorrow morning when my shift ends. Agent Hotchner will meet me in my office to plan how we'll do this."

Hotch was about to object but snapped his mouth shut and only nodded. He didn't know how he was going to get his people to stand before a huge wolf and not freak out or try to shoot Grissom but he would do what it took to make this work.

Gideon sighed. "Well that should be a very interesting meeting...so, that's settled...all I want now is a nice thick steak and bed."

"Me too and I know of a late night place that serves the perfect steak at a great price. You're welcome to join us Agent Hotchner," Grissom said, climbing into the SUV.

"Thank you, I will," Hotch accepted then turned to Gideon to ask, "...want to ride with me?"

Gideon knew why his boss wanted him along as he was sure Grissom had guessed as well. Smiling, he nodded and the two of them walked to Hotch's vehicle. Soon they were driving down the empty road following Grissom's SUV toward the city.

It was silent for some miles before Gideon made the first foray into what would be an awkward conversation. "Aaron are you alright with all this?"

Hotch sighed and tried to relax the tension in his shoulders as he drove. "If you mean knowing exactly what you are, I think so...but if you mean about the case, no. It scares me witless. When I heard all those screams and roars, I was so afraid you two would be dead and had no clue what I was going to do but I did know I didn't want to meet that thing in person. What did it look like?"

"It nearly did kill us and I don't blame you for being scared. My fur was standing on end when I came face to face with it. The word terror just doesn't describe what I felt in that moment. As for what it looked like...I've seen all kinds of strange things but this has all of them beat," Gideon said, shuddering as he remembered the encounter then described the thing to his companion.

"I can't even picture something that horrific and that's our killer? Damn, I doubt even Garcia could come up with what it might be."

"I know. Let's hope your acquaintances, Scully and Mulder can."

Hotch just nodded and focused on his driving.

Another long silence fell between them. "Why did you follow me out there?" Gideon asked.

"I knew Dr. Grissom's reputation and was suspicious as to why he would call in a BAU Team. However, when I met him, I saw he had a visible aura similar to yours which told me he was like you. Despite my past experience with Mulder and Scully, I still didn't really believe in the supernatural and was thinking this was just a more violent unsub we we're hunting. But try as I might I couldn't shake the suspicion that something more was going on. Based on that, I decided to follow you to the crime scene. No way did I expect to learn that shifters truly existed. It shook my whole world in that moment," Hotch admitted.

"I just bet it did," Gideon murmured, mildly amused.

"I was totally frozen as I stared through my binocs and watched as Dr. Grissom turned into that huge standing creature that only vaguely looked like a wolf before changing again into a big white one then you did the same only with a golden pelt and a shorter muzzle that morphed into that big cat. Now that was the real surprise for me."

"Why is that?"

"Because I never took you to be a cat person," Hotch actually smirked a little, which didn't happen very often in Gideon's memory.

Gideon rolled his eyes. "I'll have you know I'm a cougar not a big house cat and what's wrong with being a cat?" He asked in mock anger, teasing his friend and leader.

"Nothing, just surprised is all."

Both smiled in the dark of the car, tensions eased now that they knew how they stood in this new relationship.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

After dinner, Hotch drove the two of them back to their hotel after saying farewell to Dr. Grissom who returned to police headquarters.

"It was a little disturbing to see you both eat nearly raw meat like that but I guess it's necessary for your good health, seeing as you're both predators," Hotch observed, remembering the blood dripping from the barely cooked meat and how quickly both his companions had devoured it.

Gideon snorted, a small smile pulling at his mouth. "Actually, I prefer my meat cooked medium well while Grissom likes it seared with a hint of pink inside. However, with our energy stores depleted, we needed the protein more raw than cooked to get the most nutrients out of it. If we weren't so tired, we would have brought down a deer instead."

"Ahh, so that explains the three steaks you two had a piece," Hotch said, amused. He'd been incredulous at the amount of food his companions stuffed away in such a fast manner while he was still eating his first course.

"Yep and I could have eaten more but that would have drawn unwanted attention. Grissom was right, though, the steaks were delicious." Gideon smacked his lips.

Hotch could only sigh and shake his head.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

After a good nights sleep, the team woke and met for a light breakfast, except for Gideon who had loaded his plate with protein much to the questioning looks of his fellow team mates, before going to the police station. They filed into the conference room and were beginning to compare notes and catch up the murder board. Garcia prepared to leave for the computer room when Hotch gently stopped her with a hand on her arm.

"Garcia stay for a moment, please and close the door." Puzzled, Garcia did as asked and went back to sit down as did the rest of the team, turning their attention to their leader once they were seated.

"There is something very important I need you to see before we all get down to work. While you meet this person, I will be out of the room making an important phone call about this case. I want everyone to remain in their seats, put your hands on the table before you and don't move a muscle. What you're about to see will frighten you but I promise it won't harm you as long as you don't threaten it. And Morgan, keep your hand away from your gun," Hotch instructed.

Everyone, except Gideon, gave him confused looks, placed their hands on the table, and waited as their boss headed to a closet in the corner of the room and opened it. Out of the closet stalked a huge white wolf whose head came to Hotch's chest. There were gasps and wide eyes but no one leaped up or moved, following orders to the letter, though for Morgan it was a near thing.

Hotch looked down at the wolf and nodded then turned away, walked to the door, stepping out and closing it firmly behind him.

His team could only gape after him then back at the wolf who began to walk casually around the room, sniffing each person over carefully before moving on. No one moved or said a word as the wolf made a complete circuit of the room. It had taken it some ten minutes to finish its investigation before going to sit beside the closed door.

Nothing happened for another ten minutes. Eyes flicked to each other with questions in them and Morgan was beginning to get twitchy. Suddenly, the door opened and in walked Hotch and one of the lab techs who looked as bewildered as they did until he saw the wolf. He gasped but said nothing.

Hotch got the man's attention by touching his arm. "Please, take a seat Mr. Stokes." Confused, Nick did so, sitting next to Elle while Hotch shut and locked the door.

Hotch waited to see if Grissom was going to change or ask to be let out of the room though how the huge wolf was going to pass without notice in the hall, he had no idea. He unconsciously chewed his lip as he watched the wolf stand and stalk slowly around the room again before stopping by Gideon. It nudged his hand and nodded its heavy head.

Gideon gave it a small smile as he got to his feet. "Hotch the robe please..."

Hotch sighed in relief, nodded and returned to the closet to retrieve a dark blue robe that hung there. He returned to where the wolf waited patiently then held the robe up before the wolf, sort of hiding it then waited.

"When you're ready..." Gideon addressed the wolf earning him incredulous looks from his team mates. Except for Nick who just looked shocked and worried.

The huge wolf morphed in an instant returning to human form. Hotch held the robe as Grissom slide his arms in, closed the front then turned around to face the group.

"What the hell...what's going on...how did he do that...what is he?" Were the spate of stunned utterances from many mouths that were finally able to speak after being silent so long.

Gideon held up his hands to calm them. "Quiet please...you'll get your explanations after one more demonstration." So saying, he went to the closet and stepped in, Hotch who had followed, closed the door. After only a few minutes there was a soft chuffing sound which told Hotch to open the door. Out walked the cougar who also did a quick circuit of the room, sniffing everyone then returning to Hotch who had another robe in his hands.

Moments later, Gideon changed form, slipped on the robe with Hotch's assistance, closed it and turned around to face the group. "Now we'll give you an explanation," Gideon said, taking his seat with Grissom sitting next to him.

"You're shape shifters?" Reid blurted, eyes bright and excited like a kid in a candy store. "I read about you but everything said you were myths."

"With good reason...we couldn't possibly allow humans to know that everything that goes bump in the night were real, otherwise, there would be no more mystery in the world," Grissom said in his usual dark humor.

Gideon snorted. "Oh sure, as if there wasn't enough mystery already on the normal side of things, however the main reason is the panic humans would indulge in that would mean death for us by frightened mobs."

"Like the Salem Witch Trials," Reid said, shivering.

"Yes, exactly like that."

"Then why are you revealing yourselves to us in the first place?" Morgan demanded, totally unsettled by events.

"The unsub is one of you!" Reid jumped in at the same time.

Gideon rolled his eyes and sighed. Grissom smirked a little.

Reid blushed, "sorry..."

"No problem. I expected you to catch on quickly, Spencer. You're sharp and so is everyone on this team which is why we risked showing you what we truly are. All of you here are the best at what you do and we'll need that if we are to figure out this unsub. However, we're not certain it is a shifter. No shifter I've heard of looked like that thing did. Anyway, shifters are very much like humans in their way of thinking except for the animal part of us. We hope with your help, we can figure out the unsub's pattern, help identify it, and take it down before more humans are killed. After seeing what the thing looked like, Grissom and I realized we couldn't catch this thing by ourselves..." Gideon began to explain.

"So you need us to help you pin this thing down and what...?" Morgan asked warily.

"...Find a way to destroy it," Gideon said, bluntly.

Mouths opened in stunned surprise.

"Destroy it? But that's not our job!" J.J. exclaimed, upset.

"Normally that's true, however this is not an ordinary unsub even among the supernatural set. It's possible it takes a human form but in its current state, its nearly unstoppable. It came close to killing Dr. Grissom and Gideon who ran down its scent and encountered it last night. At this point, I don't know if guns or tranquilizers will even work on it." He paused to look questioning at the resident pair of shifters but both could only shrug their shoulders.

"Hope our contacts have the answer to that. In the meantime, when and if we do manage to catch this thing, destruction is mandatory. Agent Mulder has just informed me that any supernatural whatsis that kills humans is automatically given a death sentence, carried out by the FBI's secret department. But since they are unavailable it falls to us to carry out that order. They outrank us in this so there is no room for argument," Hotch said firmly.

He eyed his team solemnly a moment before adding, "I know this is a lot to ask of you all and I understand if anyone here feels morally obligated to bow out. Understand you must never speak of this to anyone outside this room if you do decide to leave. There is more at stake here than just catching this thing and killing it. A species we thought were myths must be protected from being exposed to normal humans. Secrecy must be maintained at all costs. Do you all understand? Does anyone want to leave?"

There was a pregnant silence as each studied their companions and thought about what Hotch had asked of them. The consensus was unanimous.

"We're a team and we don't leave just because this is outside our experience. This thing is killing people and must be stopped and were the only ones who know about it and, hopefully, can stop it," Morgan spoke for all.

"Thank you." Hotch sighed, relieved to have their support. He knew they were just as scared about all this as he was.

"What else did Agent Mulder say?" Gideon asked.

"He ordered me to keep this case under strict security. As few people as possible are to be in the know. Local law enforcement and the press are not to be included and we are to deny this case even exists during and when it's completed. All our data on this case is to be collected, guarded, and not shared with anyone outside our group. Garcia...ensure security is extremely tight in your arena." She nodded solemnly at him. "When and if we succeed in finding the creature, we are ordered to kill it in accordance with the instructions we hope to get from their contacts. Once that's done, the data will be handed over to the X-File Department for filing in their secret archive."

"The X-Files? They exist?" Reid asked excitedly.

Hotch had to swallow a smile at seeing the young doctor fairly bouncing in his seat with excitement. "Yes, they do exist and I met them when I was a young agent."

"I assume they intend to debrief us then?" Gideon broke in before Reid could ask more questions as he was certain to do.

"Yes."

"Not a surprise there though I'd prefer none of this went anywhere. However, this agency seems to be the right place for it and could be of value if such a thing happened again," Grissom reluctantly agree.

"Bite your tongue, Gil. I pray no such thing ever happens again," Gideon snorted.

"You know better than anyone, Gideon, that such things are always possible, that's the nature of our world."

Gideon rolled his eyes but had to concede Grissom was right about that.

Morgan leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face with his hands, deeply troubled. Reid looked scared, excited but determined to see this through. The women were just plain afraid and uncertain. This was way outside their comfort zone. Learning the supernatural truly existed was a frightening thing and one they wished they could back away from...at a run. But none moved and determination replaced fear on many faces as they settled down to learn what they could about this case that had taken such a bizarre turn. However, none could deny they felt way out of their depth here.

Morgan shook his head. "So the spook squad I heard rumors about really exists? I thought it was just an in-house joke."

"No, though there are only two in the department, they are very real and deal with this sort of thing all the time," Hotch assured him.

Morgan felt like he'd stepped into an episode of the Twilight Zone. To know the supernatural wasn't just woo-woo stuff and there was an actual FBI unit that handled the weird on a regular basis had shaken his idea of what was normal. He hoped he had what it took to handle this case.

"I know I speak for all of us humans when I say just knowing things we knew as just myths, fairytales, and horror stories exist is causing me shivers but seeing the two of you change form has proven to me this stuff is very real. I won't deny I'm scared shitless but I'll try to do my best to catch this thing were hunting. However, I refuse to work in the dark so you two shifters best give us something to work with here because I'm sure Garcia won't find anything but heresy and myth on the net. That makes you our resident experts," Morgan told them.

"You got that right," Garcia muttered, nervously.

"Though terrified, I'm also thrilled to learn more about this world. It has to be a fantastic tale, though, admittedly, this is going to cause me some nightmares," Reid said, honestly.

"I understand completely. I think it best to start with how shifters came to be first before we let you know what else is out there," Grissom sighed.

"Oh yeah, definitely," Nick spoke for the first time. Everyone else nodded their heads in reluctant agreement.


	6. Chapter 6

**CASE OF THE WEREWOLF KILLER**

**Chapter 6: Shifter History**

Grissom settled back in his seat and took a lecturing tone as he began his tale. "Shape shifters have been in existence as long as mankind walked the earth. The only difference was they didn't take human form, choosing to roam the more remote areas of the planet in their natural forms. Then one day a wandering band of ancient humans encountered our ancestors but thought they were nothing more than animals and sought to hunt them as food but found their targets to be a bit too cunning and smart to be easily caught. As for shifters, they thought humans were just another predator and began hunting them in turn.

So in complete ignorance, the humans and the shape shifters fought this unspoken war for many centuries. It wasn't until a curious shape shifter, around the time before your Christ was said to be born, became fascinated by this predator's ability to invent things, build homes, and growing food. Choosing a quiet, peaceful village, it watched the humans for a very long time learning their ways and language then for the first time, shifted its form to mimic its former prey.

Now looking like them, the shape shifter mingled and learned eventually feeling safe enough to reveal what it was to those he lived among. The humans were shocked at first then fascinated and a little envious about the shifters abilities. They were also quite surprised to learn other magical creatures actually existed as well.

But this knowledge didn't spread beyond the village for some time. For a few years, the rest of the shifters stayed within their own territories as not all of them felt compelled to take human form and live among them, but gradually word did spread to other villages spreading the word that magical creatures existed and were every bit as intelligent as they were. This in turn convinced them they should make peace with one another.

What convinced the shifters that humans were useful and intelligent were the things humans had learned to do: taming fire, growing food, building homes, and inventing many ingenious devices that made life easier. They decided they wanted a bit of this kind of life but the rest of the magical realm didn't feel the same way and remained aloof and hidden.

For awhile after the unofficial war ended, life between shifters and humans was peaceful for many years and through the times the Romans ruled most of Europe. Then, one single event changed everything ... the appearance of Christianity. It swept the world like wildfire with its message of the one true God and his son.

Shifters took no real notice of this new religion having lived through many different ones for centuries. However, when humans began turning against them, they quickly realized the leaders of this new religion had gotten it into their heads that shifters could not be from God since humans were supposed to be in his image. Shifters just didn't fit into this new God's plan as they knew it. So, in their minds, that meant shifters had to be evil and should be destroyed.

This began years of terrible purges against shifters, rapidly reducing their numbers. They were forced to disappear into the wilds, hiding among animals again. Fearful the humans might turn on them as well, the rest of the magical community also retreated into hidden places never venturing out again.

Unfortunately, running didn't save the shifters from the religious fanatics who hunted them relentlessly. For the next few centuries, war returned between humans and shifters. They thought things couldn't get any worse until the plague arrived. Nothing before that could compare to that horrific time in history. Shifters and all other magical beings couldn't catch the plague so could only watch helplessly as millions of humans died hideously. Some shifters rejoiced while others wept for the loss of such a bright species but there was nothing they could do to help them.

Shifters hoped this would end the hunts for them since so many humans were dying, but alas no. Fear is a terrible thing and humans allowed it to take away their intelligence, becoming mobs of killing machines. They turned on each other and shifters, when they could catch them, with a vengeance. They burned them all at the stake by the hundreds. It didn't matter they couldn't tell a shifter from a real animal or even another human, they killed all indiscriminately. Stupidly enough they also ended up destroying their food supply along with their assumed enemy.

To save themselves, shifters were forced to head into more inhospitable areas of the world where food was scare as was shelter but humans couldn't reach them so shifters managed to survive the nightmare years. When deaths from the plague finally ceased, new battles broke out among the soldiers who no longer had a war to fight and turned on the survivors. This took another hundred years to resolve while the shifters watched and waited in hiding.

When the world calmed down somewhat, shifters dared to return to the edges of civilization. They hungered for this modern life after getting a taste of it but it wouldn't do them any good setting up their own towns as humans were everywhere and would find them. No, it was better to integrate among the humans, but how were they to do this?" Grissom paused a moment to drink some of his coffee that had been getting cold while he told this tale.

"Is this a verbal history handed down by your ancestors because you speak as if you were actually there? Also, I find it hard to believe Christianity could have caused such a drastic change in your lives. What about all the other religions out there? Did they also turn against your kind?" Reid jumped in, unable to wait until Grissom finished his history lesson.

Grissom eyed Reid coolly. "Christianity has been responsible for whole massacrers of races from the South Americas to here in the US with the Indians, all in the name of their one God. Knowing this, why should it be difficult for you to believe religion could be responsible for the deaths of so many? Their whole existence rests on their firm belief that anything or anyone that wasn't a believer of their God and looked like him had to be evil. From what I've seen, that ideology hasn't changed in centuries. As for other religions, they were more tolerant of us because we resembled their own versions of God but many had been tainted by the new religion and allowed themselves to be influenced enough to ban us from their nations but at least they didn't kill us. We did have our friends among the humans as well but it became too dangerous for them to be associated with us so we left them behind ... isolating ourselves from humans completely," Grissom told him pointedly.

Reid's face colored a bit in shame. "I hate to admit you do have a point there. I'm certainly not proud of our ancestor's politics in regards to other belief systems and, unfortunately, we still haven't learned tolerance despite history teaching us how bad it is to force our beliefs on others. It's like we can't seem to learn from our mistakes," he admitted.

"That is a true statement, Dr. Reid, and the reason is humans are incapable of remembering much of their past, their brains aren't designed to hold that much information. Because of this, they have to rely on others to write down their history but that is colored by the emotions and beliefs of the writer so it is never a true, unvarnished picture of what happened in their past. So, yes, humans are doomed to repeat their atrocities as they simply can't remember them. That isn't true of our kind. We remember everything. It's imprinted on each shifter when they're born and easy to access when they reach puberty. So our history is remembered exactly how it happened from generation to generation with perfect accuracy," Grissom said, a bit smug about that difference.

"That's amazing! What archeologists wouldn't give to have such an accurate source of information at their disposal." Reid's eyes lit with excitement. The thought of an accurate accounting of the past that could correct misconceptions about their past had him giddy.

But Grissom and Gideon shook their heads. "Unfortunately, humans don't want to know the truth...not really. They'd refuse to believe some of the more terrible things they did in the past preferring to believe some of it but not all and certainly not believe we can accurately repeat history without embellishing it. Humans are in the habit of seeing things from their side only so are unable to believe we could be so different from them because we look human too. It's a built in defense mechanism that protects their minds," Grissom explained patiently.

"Oh...right...I remember reading about that. The human mind survives by selectively forgetting traumatic events," Reid sighed in disappointment. "But what about just correcting important events, covering lightly the worst aspects?" He asked, not willing to give this up.

Gideon shook his head and smiled at the young man's eagerness. "Wouldn't work, Spencer. Any archeologist worth their reputation wouldn't accept the word of one of us for the same reason Dr. Grissom already stated."

Reid's expression fell. "It seems so unfair. All that history lost to us because of our own blindness.

"Cheer up, Spencer. I'd be happy to satisfy some of your curiosity but you can't share it," Gideon relented a little. Reid smiled broadly at that promise.

"That would be great. When this is over I'll hold you to that."

Grissom rolled his eyes. "You opened a can of worms on that, Gideon. He will hound you relentlessly."

Gideon shrugged.

"So are you saying shape shifters don't have a defense mechanism like us when it comes to viewing and remembering such horrific things from your past," Morgan interrupted, a frown on his face.

"That's correct. Most likely the predator in us that allows us to view death in all its forms as part of life. And just for your info, shape shifters rarely become ill or suffer any form of mental instability. We heal very quickly from most injuries as well but we are by no means immortal."

"But if you heal so well, does that mean you're long lived," Garcia asked, curious.

"Yes it does," Gideon answered.

"Must be nice. So does that mean you may be older than you say on your resume, boss?" Nick asked of Grissom.

His supervisor eyed him a long moment. "Yes, but I'll never tell how old," he said with a tiny smile.

"Ahh, not fair."

Morgan snorted. "Alright, so we managed to ruin our relationship with your kind and you went into hiding, and, if I understood you correctly, you never had a human form in the beginning until that one shifter did it. Then when you were hunted you returned to your original forms and stayed that way. My confusion is, what were you exactly before that one shifter changed into a human?" He asked, wanting the discussion to get back to the history lesson he was finding very fascinating.

Grissom smiled apologetically to the man before taking up the tale again. "Before taking human form, we had two other forms we used interchangeably depending on our needs. One was a biped animal form and the other our four footed form you just saw. We had no need or desire for any other form."

"Does that mean you can take other shapes if you desire?" Reid suddenly jumped in.

Grissom shook his head. "No, we're born as the species we will be. We can't take any other animal form but that. However, changing into a human ... now that was a mystery until very recently. A decade ago, a coyote researcher, studying our DNA, made a startling discovery. He found our DNA possessed human DNA within its matrix ... not a lot but enough to allow the transformation and to be able breed with humans which is how we kept ourselves from becoming extinct when humans had killed so many of us."

"What about your children? We're they half and half or one or the other?" Garcia asked, fascinated by the story.

"Fortunately, since the shifter DNA is dominant, all children bred of a mix couple are always a shifter ... no half and halfs, ever," Gideon answered as Grissom drank more coffee.

Grissom picked up his lecture again. "As I was saying, shifters got tired of hiding and wanted to live like the humans did, in their comfortable cities. Since they weren't welcome as their true selves, they decided to never allow the humans to know about them again. So they infiltrated human society very gradually, keeping their secret to themselves to this day." His voice went silent. The two shifters watched the humans in the room closely as they absorbed all this incredible information.

"I still have one problem," Reid said, hesitatingly.

"What's that, Spencer?" Gideon responded.

"Uhm, you said magical creatures exist? Do you consider yourselves in that category?"

"Yes, we've always been considered a part of the magical community rather than the human one," Gideon answered.

Reid frowned and shook his head. "I'm having a difficult time believing in magic in general."

"Magic has existed from the beginning of time, Spencer. Just because humans stopped believing when religion took over does not make it untrue. Many magical creatures exist besides us and the fact you don't believe it is your problem not ours. The religious leaders of the time convinced themselves that magic was evil along with us and tried to blot both it and us out of existence, remember?" Gideon reminded them.

The humans in the room had the decency to look rather embarrassed for what their ancestors had done.

"You're right about us humans, if we can't see it or prove it, then it can't exist. How arrogant is that?" J.J. snorted, shaking her head.

Gideon smiled warmly at her. "There were those that felt as you do, J.J., but it was far too dangerous for them to be associated with us. In the modern world, I'm glad to say, there are more like you around who believe in us and are our friends but that was made easier when we took human form. Believe me, not even modern humans would readily accept a six to seven foot biped that didn't look anything like a human, speaking to them."

"Unfortunately, you're right about that," J.J. admitted, shivering at the thought.

"It would cause mass hysteria and panic," Nick intoned, solemnly. "I understand better now why you hide yourselves to this day."

"Right, and it's also why we police ourselves and try not to allow you to see much of us. We don't always succeed but your inability to truly believe what your eyes see is a benefit to us. We can use science to explain away an impossibility and the human mind quickly accepts that as fact. Works nearly all the time except for the ones who have a more flexible mind or possess that extra sense that can detect us in the first place. Fortunately, those type of people are few and usually ill trained," Gideon added.

"You mean those individuals who are said to have extrasensory abilities? They're real?" Reid asked, surprised.

"Oh, they're very real. But again humans simply dismiss the unusual as fake," Gideon answered.

"Not everyone. There are scientific agencies that study the phenomena..." Garcia began to object.

"Yes there are, but how does the rest of the scientific community treat them?" Gideon asked, smiling gently at her.

Garcia blushed. "They sort of dismiss them as not being real science ... more like crackpots or charlatans," She admitted.

"Exactly, however, it doesn't change the fact it's real, eh Hotch?" Gideon asked, putting his boss on the hot seat and enjoying the man's discomfort when everyone stared at him in confusion.

Hotch blushed and looked away.

Reid noticed and gaped. "Wha...you have such a gift?"

Everyone staring at him made Hotch squirm in embarrassment. Gideon answered for their suddenly tongue tied leader. "Yes, it appears our fearless leader is what's known as a sensitive. He can see our auras but can't identify what the person is, unfortunately."

"Why unfortunately?" Morgan jumped on that as he stared at his superior in bemusement.

"Because he could be harmed by noticing something that didn't want to be noticed," Gideon said more seriously. "I will have to teach him how to identify what he senses and how to 'not notice' those that would kill him in an instant if they even knew he could technically 'see' them. There are some nasty critters out there that even we avoid."

"Wow, as if chasing serial killers weren't dangerous enough..." Greenaway muttered.

"And what would these nasty critters be?" Morgan asked, frowning.

Gideon sighed. "Boggles, trolls, goblins, poltergeists, witches, wizards, zombies, vengeful ghosts, vampires though some of them can be rather nice people, dark fae, gargoyles, harpies, and far too many more to name from all mythologies and fairy tales."

Many of those listening, mainly the women, paled at the realization that every nightmare thing they'd heard of was real.

"Fairytales say these things love to bedevil and harm humans. Does that mean some of the unsolved cases might have been caused by them?" Garcia asked in sudden realization. It would explain a lot of those cold cases.

"About only one percent is caused by a paranormal whatsis. The rest really want nothing to do with humans and go about their business largely unseen by them as they use magic to hide what they are," Gideon soothed her.

"Well, that's good to know," Garcia, a bit relieved.

"Ditto," J.J. muttered.

"So, does that answer most of your questions?" Grissom asked.

Everyone sat thinking a long moment. When no one ventured to say anything more, Grissom eyed his lab tech.

"Nick?"

"I'm sure I'll have other questions but I can't think of anything else at the moment," the young man admitted. "You were pretty thorough."

"Excellent, then I suggest we return the subject of our unsub," Gideon declared.

"And that means contacting the people Mulder gave me and asking them some important questions before we can even begin to understand what this creature is and why it's killing humans," Hotch interjected.

Gideon nodded and added, "I can tell you this for certain, it's not a shifter."

"What?" Grissom turned his head sharply and gaped at the cougar in surprise

"But you said it wasn't human looking?" Hotch objected.

"And it wasn't but it's not a shifter. It took me a little while to think about what I'd seen and smelled plus what we uncovered in the evidence, which wasn't much, I admit. However, I've come to the conclusion this must be a spelled human," Gideon replied.

Grissom frowned even harder before the light came on. He snapped his fingers. "Of course!" He said. " And it would make sense you would know about them."

"Yes, as it was my ancestors who encountered such a thing on the western prairies of America. Tales from my ancestors told of some Native Americans, specifically the Navajo, Hopi, and Mohawk tribes, that could take the form of animals. They were called skin-walkers because they used the skins of animals and witchcraft to alter their form. Skin-walkers are generally considered frightening, evil, dangerous, and difficult to kill."

"It certainly fits the profile of our unsub!" Reid exclaimed, excitedly.

"And most definitely not a shifter. I believe you're on the right track," Hotch said slowly, putting the clues together. "Still we could use Agent Mulder's contacts to confirm our suspicions and if it is what we think, we'll need to know how to destroy it. You didn't happen to acquire that piece of information as well?"

Gideon shook his head. "Unfortunately not. I only know of them not much else about them. I'll need to consult with an elder to find that out," he admitted. "Fortunately, I know someone I can speak with about that."

"Then we have a plan. Garcia, look up anything you can about skin-walkers and dig deeper through the unsolved cases to see where this unsub might have first appeared using the new parameters we have."

"On it, sir," she said briskly, getting to her feet and heading for the door.

"Everyone else, go through the case files again and see if there is something we missed that fits the profile we're building."

Heads nodded and a renewed sense of purpose filled the air.

"I'm going to get some sleep. I'll see you all later but if you need me sooner, don't hesitate to contact me. Gideon knows how to reach me." Grissom told them as he rose and turned to leave as well.

"Thank you, Dr. Grissom." Hotch called out, Grissom just nodded.

When Grissom and Stokes left the room, Gideon pulled his boss aside for a private chat before Hotch could make his call.

"When you're through, you and I will find a quiet place and begin your lessons. There is nothing else we can do until they gather more information and I don't want to waste any more time making you safe."

Hotch blinked at the man in surprise but nodded then turned his attention back to his cell phone. 


	7. Chapter 7

**CASE OF THE WEREWOLF KILLER**

**Chapter 7: More Help and Other Surprises**

Covering a yawn, Grissom made for his office, there was one more call he wanted to make before going home. Entering his office, he shut the door behind him then went to sit behind his desk. Flipping through his roll-a-deck he searched for a few minutes until he halted at the person he'd been looking for. Grabbing his phone he punched in some numbers then leaned back in his chair and waited.

Five rings later the phone was answered by a breathless voice. "Hello?"

A small smile lit Grissom's face. "Barrett...Grissom here...got a moment?"

"Gil! Hell it's been awhile, dude. Yeah, I got some time for ya... just got in from a quick run. What's up?" A rough sounding, male voice answered.

Grissom could picture the younger male at the other end of the line leaning against his kitchen counter wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and tennis shoes, his long reddish brown hair tied at the nap of his neck and a sweat band around his forehead. As long as he'd known the man, Barrett loved to run in the forest near his home in the early morning hours...his timing was good today.

Liam Barrett was 35 years old and a jackal shifter. A handsome fellow who flirted shamelessly with the ladies, Liam was a lean, buff 5' 8" tall with gold eyes that he hid with brown contacts. Something in his genetics had caused him to possess eyes of his shifter form in his human shape forcing him to hide them. It was fortunate long wearing contacts had been developed by the time he went to junior high or he'd would have had to live the life of a total recluse. As a premier race car driver, wearing sunglasses or a helmet were mandatory which helped when he needed to give his eyes a break from the lens. After racking up an impressive record of wins, he retired at the early age of 28.

It was his second choice of careers that had brought him and Grissom together. Just five years earlier, Barrett was on a job that had taken him to Vegas. He had a thing for protecting the underdog that got him into many a grave situation but it was what he thrived on which was why he'd chosen to be a PI. His dogged determination to stick his nose into everything caused him to clash with Grissom when their cases collided.

However, as they worked to solve the mystery of a dead waiter that was linked to his own missing person's case, they set aside their differences and by the end of the chase they'd developed a grudging respect for one another. Time, and many more cases later, they'd formed a lasting friendship.

Normally, it was Barrett who needed his help so it was a first for Grissom to reach out to his friend. He quickly laid out the case in the barest of details. A grim silence held for several minutes after he'd finished.

Finally, Barrett spoke, his voice low and thoughtful. "Skinwalker, eh?"

"That's what Gideon feels certain we encountered, yes."

"Nasty. I'd heard rumors of such things but never thought to actually run into one. Aren't they supposed to be damn near indestructible in their shifted form?"

"That's what I've been told and it certainly felt like it. I feel certain Gideon and I are only alive because of the coyote pack I hang out with interceded and drove it off."

A low whistle greeted that admission. "Lucky you. So how do you find such a creature? Have a clue who they are in human form?" Liam asked, concerned.

"None. All the evidence is from its shifter form and that is causing all kinds of nightmares in the lab as I can't tell the brass that we're hunting a mythical beast."

"Ugh, a mess that is alright. I hate it when our kind does something this monumentally stupid and brings down the notice of the humans on us. What I don't understand is how this asshole managed to keep under the radar so long. All the labs should be up in arms about a serial killer in their midst that they can't tell even what sex it is or whether its human or not. At the very least it should have been on the news." Barrett was both angry and confused.

"What we've been able to determine is all the other bodies were written off as killed by an unknown animal and closed. Even now, with our inquiries, none of the police that found the bodies want to dig up the cases again which is why I called in some high powered help," Grissom admitted.

"You mean Gideon's team?" Barrett asked, incredulous. He knew Grissom had never had cause to call in a BAU team...ever.

"Yes."

"But how could you get his help and hide it from his team?"

"We didn't."

Shocked silence met that statement. In a hushed voice, Barrett asked, "You told a BAU Team that shifters exist? Are you mental?"

"No...just desperate. Look Liam...this guy has been killing for years. In that he's the classic serial killer but being a skinwalker has made this something the shifter community needs to put out of its misery as soon as possible before we are even more exposed."

"Oh you don't have to convince me of that but a BAU Team...damn Grissom."

"There was no choice believe me."

A long sigh filled Grissom's ear. "It's a good thing I trust you, Gil because this could out me and I'm not sure I care to have that happen with the feds. Keep what I am out of it..."

"Sorry, can't!" Grissom cut him off. "The BAU Team Leader is a human sensitive."

"What?" The shocked exclamation made Gil pull the phone away from his ear. Then there was another long silence. "Liam?"

Barrett shook his head, thinking his friend had lost his mind but he wasn't there so... "I soo don't like being outed but no way would I let you two face such a thing alone. Alright, count me in."

Grissom was greatly relieved. The jackal's skills would be extremely handy right now. "Thank you. I know I'm asking you to take a great risk but we really need to stop this thing here before it can move on and hunt elsewhere."

"You sure it hasn't already?" His friend asked, a skeptical note in his voice.

"No. But I'm hoping since Gideon and I managed to make it mad it might want to stick around to get revenge or at the very least shut us up. This serial killer has a set a pattern of killing it's prey unnoticed and now two people have seen him. From what little I know of skin walkers they don't like that. He will do anything to ensure his secret stays that way according to Gideon."

"Hmm...well hope you're right. I don't want to have been outed and the enemy has flown the coup. I'll book a flight and should be there by late afternoon." He paused then asked in a more formal tone, "Am I welcome within your home and territory?"

Equally formal, Grissom responded, "You are welcome to stay in my guest room and hunt on my territory during your stay."

"Thank you. See you later." He hung up then called the airlines for a flight.

Grissom sighed as he put his phone back in its cradle. Another yawn caught him. Shaking his head he muttered, "Time to get some sleep." He got to his feet and left the office, passing the under sheriff just coming out of one of the labs.

"You shouldn't still be here, Grissom," Echle, snapped, his tone ugly.

"Just leaving," Grissom said flatly.

"Nice mess you're leaving us. No clues, no sex identity, no idea what or who the killer is and BAU sticking their noses into everything," Echle said acidly. "I've ordered a complete reexamination of all the evidence. I don't want BAU to do our work nor have the brass think we can't do our job."

Grissom felt his hackles rise and fought down the real desire to scare the human witless. Echle wasn't worth being outed despite how much of a toad he was. The man thought he was the most important person here and was pushing for assistant director of the labs. As an ass licker, he just might get it even though Gil was far more qualified but Grissom didn't want the headache of the position nor be in the spotlight so he kept a low profile and let Echle do all the political climbing he wanted just as long as the man left him and his team alone.

"BAU is here to help us stop this killer not get publicity, Echle. This isn't a contest so if you manage to find new evidence in that mess, that will be good as we really need to stop this guy before he kills again. That is, after all, our goal not trying to look good for the brass," he sternly reminded the annoying man then continued on his way.

Echle blinked in angry annoyance but before he could fling a stinging retort at the other man, Grissom disappeared into the just opening elevator. Snorting in disgust the man stalked toward his office.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Back in the conference room, Hotch managed to reach one of the contacts Agent Mulder had given him. However, once he'd tried to explain what he needed the contact immediately clammed up and insisted they meet face to face. Knowing it was more than five hours to the man's location in northeastern Arizona, Hotch knew they didn't have the time for such a trip. Telling the man on the line to hold a moment, he gestured at Gideon to come to his side.

"What's up?"

"I've got a Len Chacah, a Hopi Medicine Man, on the phone. I'd barely asked him about skinwalkers and our case when he cut me off and refused to talk about it on the phone ... insists on a face to face."

"I understand his reasons for that but I know he's most likely some distance from us..." he eyed Hotch for confirmation. "Yes, about five hours away in Arizona," Hotch confirmed. Nodding, Gideon held out his hand. "I'll speak with him. He'll tell me what we need because I have a way to keep it from being overheard by anyone, trust me."

Wondering how Gideon was going to accomplish that, Hotchner handed his cell over then stood with his arms crossed, waiting. The next moment, he was blinking in amazed surprise as a beautiful, melodious language with clear enunciation and expressive vocabulary spilled from Gideon's mouth. It was some Native American language but he had no idea what one and he doubted there were very many alive who could speak it. So he was right, no one would know what they were saying.

The rarely heard language captured the rest of the team's fascinated attention as their heads rose and turned to stare at their team mate.

"Wow, Gideon is just full of surprises," Reid said, softly, totally mesmerized.

"You don't know what language it is, Spencer," Morgan asked, knowing Reid was versed in a lot of different languages.

But Reid shook his head. "Not a clue. Many of the Native American languages are nearly extinct with very few speakers left alive. Efforts are underway to try and preserve as many of them as possible before all the old speakers have died. I wonder if Gideon has tried to teach it to anyone..." his voice drifted off as he thought about asking to be taught it.

Morgan shook his head in amusement. He could almost hear what Reid was thinking and it wasn't a half bad idea for the bright young man to learn something like that. "I think there's probably a lot of things that are old and no longer known or spoken that he knows about," he muttered, speculatively as he returned his attention to the old reports.

"Oh yeah, especially if he's far older than he looks," Reid mused. Morgan eyed him a moment then glanced over at Gideon who was now sitting on the corner of the table with one arm across his chest, his face frowning as he listened.

"Maybe he'll tell you if you're the one who asks," he said, smiling a little at the younger man.

Reid blushed. Gideon had been the one to make him feel welcome when all the others felt he was far too young. The older agent had taken him under his wing and had become his mentor and friend. He felt deeply honored to be working with one of the country's foremost profiler but sometimes the older man was a bit too over protective. He wondered if it had to do with some instinct from the man's shifter side? Well, whatever the reason, Reid wasn't above using that to get his questions answered. Shelving the thought for now, he returned to work.

Finally, Gideon said something that had the distinct flavor of a good bye and sure enough, he closed the cell moments later and handed it back to Hotch. His look thoughtful and worried.

"Was he of any help?" Hotch prodded the man, when Gideon remained silent.

Gideon lifted his gaze from the floor and eyed Hotch then nodded. "More than I wanted to know, actually." He shivered a little. Standing, he faced the team who'd stopped to hear what he had to say.

"I knew finding this killer would be difficult but it turns out killing him will be much harder and complex." He sighed and rubbed his face. "In their animal form, a skin-walker may be virtually anything, but they tend to favor wolf, coyote, fox, bear, owl, or crow. My contact has never heard of one taking more than one form at the same time before. It ... was a disturbing bit of information that made him really unhappy. Anyway, our unsub won't be that hard to find being a mix of animals that is utterly impossible to exist in nature, also it has a stink that any shape shifter can track. It is truly foul."

"So...what...we use you guys as blood hounds to track this guy then we take him out?" Morgan asked.

Gideon shook his head firmly. "No human is going hunting the skinwalker in its animal form as it's nearly invulnerable, deadly, and extremely fast. Only us shape shifters are tracking this thing and even we will have to be super careful."

"Then we'll let you do that but how do you know if he's out there in animal form in the first place and how do we kill it if its nearly invulnerable? Do we wait until it's human but then how do we find him in a city this large with no idea what he looks like?" Hotch asked.

"That is the hard part. What I'm hoping is to track the unsub backwards from where Grissom and I mixed it up with him. But once we do manage to find him we have to wait until he shifts back then hope we can kill him before he can kill us because even as human he's deadly."

"Well, hell! What do you expect us to do here, Gideon?" Morgan demanded, so not liking the corner they'd been pushed into.

"Relax Morgan, I didn't say it was impossible just very difficult. My Hopi contact has a plan to help us deal with this unsub and insists on being here so we have to wait for him before taking any action."

"Why? He's not police and might be harmed," Hotch objected, beginning to get angry that the case was fast running out of his control.

"Because only he can cast the spell that will trap the unsub and knows how to kill him. Believe me Hotch, it will take a Hopi Medicine Man to do this. Grissom and I may be magical in nature but that doesn't mean we know _how_ to work magic, but Len Chucah does so we wait for him and besides, we also have to wait for Grissom since he won't be back until this evening and needs to be involved as well. Any more questions?"

Hotch thought about it then shook his head. "Fine. I would have liked to have known before you committed us but I understand why you needed to go ahead and make the decision."

Gideon nodded. He knew very well that he'd overstepped his authority but in this arena, he knew much more than Hotch did. He went to take his seat again next to Morgan and pulled a stack of files toward him.

"There is one thing I wish we could do that would save us a lot of time..." he said more to himself then them.

"What would that be?" Hotch asked, taking a seat at the end of the table and began looking through another stack of files.

"I would have that coyote pack Grissom's friendly with hunt for the unsub while we're waiting. They just might be able to track him back to his home. It's their territory after all."

"Uh, Dr. Grissom knows a coyote pack? Are they shape shifters too?" Reid asked.

"No, real coyotes. Apparently, they adopted him as part of their pack."

"Huh? Why would a wolf become part of a coyote pack?" Reid looked bewildered.

Gideon sighed. "That's personal, Spencer and has no bearing on this right now. Suffice it to say, Grissom is the alpha in this area with no pack and no tolerance for outsiders unless they ask his permission to remain here. He has no problem with visitors but squatters...well, let's just say you don't want to tangle with him."

Hotch felt a chill race down his spine. Now he knew why Dr. Grissom made him more nervous than Gideon. He'd been right. The man was very powerful and dangerous. But that reminded him of a question he'd been holding since seeing the two shifters for the first time.

"If Dr. Grissom is an alpha what does that make you and how are you tolerated? It looked like you two are good friends despite the fact your animals shouldn't be."

Gideon smiled briefly. "We are. We crossed paths a long time ago and became friends but even so, I still must formally request permission to enter his territory and be permitted to visit and hunt."

"Seriously?" Morgan exclaimed, surprised and a bit outraged.

"It's a shifter thing and keeps the peace between all the different species of shifters. Make no mistake, we are predators and we live and die by our animal instincts."

"But...but you're civilized..." Elle objected.

Gideon turned his head toward her and for an instant his eyes changed to shifter ones. She paled, a hand going to her throat in fear. "Make no mistake, Elle, I may have civilized manners but that is a very thin disguise for what I truly am, understood?"

Her eyes were wide as she nodded her head nervously. The others felt really uncomfortable at that moment too even when Gideon's eyes returned to their normal human brown ones.

To push away the tension in the room, Reid asked, "You still didn't say where in the hierarchy you stand?" Reid reminded him. "If Dr. Grissom is an alpha what are you next to him? A beta perhaps? I doubt an omega though..."

Gideon rolled his eyes. "I'm not a wolf, Spencer. Those terms really only apply to them though alpha does get used a lot among us but the only term that does apply is whether I'm a submissive or dominant."

"Okay, which is it?" Reid asked, attentively.

"I bet dominant." Morgan interjected.

"Why thank you Derek, and you'd be right." Gideon smiled warmly.

Hotch felt his shoulders ease a bit. "That means you and Grissom are equals then?"

"Yes, in dominance but not in strength. He still has over a hundred fifty pounds on me. Now that we've gotten that clear, I think we should order some lunch and get back to work. The day is waning fast," Gideon warned them.

"Good idea," Hotch agreed.

"Alright, then I'll get lunch. What does everyone want?" J.J. volunteered, willing to move away from the strange subject for now.

The next few minutes were spent in giving her orders then she was gone and the rest poured through the reports again as Spencer began sketching in the beginnings of the profile on the white out board set up at the front of the room.


	8. Chapter 8

**CASE OF THE WEREWOLF KILLER**

**Chapter 8: New Arrivals**

It was late afternoon when Garcia returned to the conference room from her hours of scanning multiple data bases, attempting to track their unsub using Vegas PD's kickass tech center. It was nearly as good as her own...almost...but then nothing compared to Penelope's self-built tech center at Quantico.

Her team mates were in various stages of tired and frustrated. Morgan was tossing yet another folder onto the mountain of others in disgust.

Reid, on the other hand, seemed to be deep in research. His part of the table was stacked with some really old books with interesting titles, like: _Some Kind of Power: Navaho Children's Skinwalker Narratives, Meeting the Medicine Men: An Englishman's Travels Among the Navajo, Werewolves, Shapeshifters and Skinwalkers, and The Navajo Skinwalker, Witchcraft, & Related Spiritual Phenomena: Spiritual Clues: Orientation to the Evolution of the Circle_. Creepy!

Gideon and Hotch were sitting away from the rest with their heads close so no one could hear what they were saying. She supposed Gideon was giving Hotch the lowdown on being a sensitive, unfortunately the lesson would have to wait as she had some important news to relate.

"Excuse me, but could I have your attention?"

Everyone looked up at her, interest in their eyes.

"You have something new for us, baby doll? I sure hope so as these..." Morgan gestured at the pile of folders, "...have revealed nothing new."

"I have a possible pattern..." Penelope headed for the nearby computer and typed rapidly on it for a moment. Suddenly images appeared on the screen mounted on the nearby wall. A map of the US was covered in brightly glowing dots of red. A moment later the red dots were connected by a yellow line with an arrow at the end to indicate direction.

"It took a lot of persistent digging to ferret out those cases that matched our unsub's methodology. As you know, the police have come up with creative ways to explain the deaths but they could not or did not think to alter the autopsy reports which is how I was able to come up with this map. As you can see there are more bodies then we first thought," she said unhappily. "And the trail actually started in Alaska before going through Canada then down to the US. The death total so far is 25."

Grim faces stared at the data with various expressions of anger, anguish, and sadness.

"So this guy's been killing for a very long time," Morgan said, flatly.

"Yes, and there seems to be no clue as to his ultimate destination," Garcia said, unhappily.

"It almost looks like he's just heading in one direction for no particular reason," J.J. commented, frowning.

"Hmm, you might be right. He doesn't veer off in any direction, that we know of anyway. That could suggest insanity..." Gideon mused.

"I thought a skinwalker was insane from the beginning," Morgan said, caustically.

Gideon sighed and shook his head. "No, not usually...evil...yes...but insane...not normally. But you're right, whoever this is does seem insane and that's further supported by the totally impossible shape he's decided to take. He could very well be seriously psychotic which might explain the viciousness of the attacks and the fact he's not stopped. Skinwalker's motives are usually revenge oriented but this does not resemble that at all."

"Wonderful!" Elle muttered facetiously. Suddenly a cell phone sounded off. Everyone checked theirs to see who was being paged.

"It's mine," Gideon announced, answering his cell. The conversation was very short and done in that same Native American language he'd spoken before.

"That was Len Chacah. He's waiting at the airport. I'll go get him then when Gil arrives we can, hopefully, devise a plan to catch our unsub."

"I hope so. Beats going through more of this and finding nothing useful," Morgan grunted, pointing at the files he'd been going through. "Garcia, you didn't have anything more for us?"

"No, unfortunately that's it."

"Well, let's hope our guest has more info for us. I best be off to get him." Gideon sighed and rose from his seat, heading for the door.

"Wait, since we have to wait for our visitor and Dr. Grissom, I want everyone take time out for a meal and perhaps a nap if you need it so we're all fresh for the meeting," Hotch ordered.

"Good idea, I'll take our guest to his hotel and catch a meal with him," Gideon started to say when Hotch, who'd also risen from his seat, interjected, "I think I should come along as well..."

The shifter eyed him a long moment then nodded. "Fine, but understand, he may not be willing to speak with you just yet."

"Understood."

Nodding, Gideon opened the door and the two men headed out. The trip was uneventful and neither felt like talking. What could they say at this point? Hotch did note that Gideon didn't need a GPS to find the airport which told him, the man had been to Vegas enough to be very familiar with the area.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

At the airport, Gideon pulled up at the baggage claim area. Both men got out but Hotch remained by the car so they wouldn't get ticketed and so the shifter could meet the medicine man alone, but that didn't happen.

Gideon had barely reached the doors leading into the building when a tall, thin man with a nutmeg colored face that was deeply lined and a fall of silver hair that went past his shoulders in wispy strands, came through them first.

The man wore a brown Western-style button-down shirt with pointy collar and opalescent buttons and pressed blue jeans. Instead of a string tie that one normally saw with this attire, he wore a turquoise necklace and a silver band with turquoise settings graced his left wrist. Sturdy cowboy boots shod his feet and a grey and white bandana wrapped the top of his head. He carried an intricately decorated cloth bag with leather fringe over one shoulder and had a carved piece of wood some four feet long in his left hand.

He didn't really look like a medicine man but the eyes that flick toward Hotch before returning to Gideon's spoke of deep wisdom and a calmness he wished he owned himself. The man's weathered face was grim and solemn as he stopped before the shifter and raised his right hand.

Len Chacah's soft brown eyes studied Gideon for several moments while the hustle and bustle of passengers swirled around them. Then, in a low husky voice, he said, "Pahaana it aw hinstaki."

Gideon mirrored the greeting. "Pahaana it aw hinstaki." Switching to English for Hotch's sake, he asked, "I trust your flight was without problems?"

"It was." Len said, briefly, a man of few words. Gideon took no offense as he gestured toward Hotch and their vehicle. Chacah stepped up beside the agent and walked with a light step, making no sound on the flagstone sidewalk.

"May I introduce the leader of our team, Chief Aaron Hotchner." Gideon introduced his leader when they paused before him. Chacah nodded his head by way of greeting. Hotch nodded back.

"I appreciate your willingness to come here and help us solve this case," Hotch said politely.

"Only because this enemy threatens us all would I willingly leave my home and fly," Chacah said grimly. "It is a perilous way to get about," he added, drily, showing he did have a sense of humor.

"One gets used to it," Hotch said agreeably as the three climbed aboard the car. Chacah choosing to sit in back.

"Glad I am that I do not have to," Chacah muttered more to himself then to them. "Will we be meeting the rest now?"

"Not exactly, sir. We need to wait for Dr. Grissom to return to work a couple more hours from now. He is the leader of the night shift that had dealt with the current case and he is the one who met our enemy face to face along with Gideon here."

"Ahh, then I will wait until that time to discuss this case as I wish to question him and have no desire to repeat myself."

"Not a problem sir," Hotch agreed. "Would you like to check into your hotel and perhaps get a meal before we meet the others?"

Chacah thought a moment then nodded his head. "A good idea. Thank you. It will pass the time more quickly."

Gideon headed to the hotel where BAU was staying and had gotten a reservation for their guest. The rest of the drive was done in silence.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

The sun was low in the sky when Grissom rose that evening and set about getting ready for work. He was fixing himself dinner when there was a hard knock on his front door. He pulled the skillet off the burner and went to answer it.

Standing there was a tall, lean man waiting patiently on the porch with a hangup bag over his shoulder and one hand in his pocket, a smile of greeting on his face.

"Liam! Welcome to my territory. Did you have a good flight?" Grissom asked warmly, stepping aside to allow the jackal entry.

"It was cramped, noisy, but thankfully short," Liam said amiably, tossing his garment bag over the back of the comfortable couch then turning to wait politely for Grissom to close and secure his door. Only when the alpha wolf turned to face him, did Liam step close enough to be toe to toe.

He offered a submissive greeting, a method accepted by all species to prevent any deadly misunderstandings. Leaning his face close, Liam rubbed his cheek against Grissom's chin then gave a brief swipe with his tongue to the man's bottom lip before following up with a deep sniff behind Gil's right ear.

Done, he waited, unmoving, until Grissom returned the dominant's greeting of a single deep sniff behind Liam's left ear. Greeting completed, the alpha stepped back and smiled.

"I was just fixing dinner... care to join me?"

"Sounds fantastic. I'm starving! It's the pits how the airlines serve nothing now, not even peanuts for crap's sake," Liam groused goodnaturedly.

"Eating before one flies is always a good idea, one I highly recommend." Grissom said sagely, heading for his kitchen with his guest following. He made for the stove and pulled the skillet back over the burner then went to the fridge to fetch another steak.

Liam snorted as he took a seat at the breakfast bar. "Can't'...flying makes me slightly ill so I never eat more than a small piece of meat and water before boarding." He rested his face on the palms of his hands as he watched Grissom putter around the neat, old fashioned style kitchen. Soon mouth-watering smells filled the air and he sniffed appreciatively. "Mmm, smells delicious. You always were an excellent cook!"

The wolf gave him a small smile, pleased by the compliment, as he served up their food. They ate companionably in silence, giving the food the attention it deserved.

"Excellent meal as always but that was nothing more than a snack to my poor stomach. Got a decent deer herd hereabouts?" Liam sighed, smacking his lips and pushing his cleaned plate away some minutes later.

Grissom rolled his eyes at his friend's entreaty. "It's respectable considering how small the forest is nearby and hasn't been over hunted.."

"You have anything to do with that?" Liam smirked as he picked up his iced tea and drank deeply.

The wolf smirked back.. "Perhaps...but it's not normally necessary as people don't come here to hunt furry creatures."

"True. They hunt the illusion of wealth," Liam snorted. "Anyway, as much as I'd loved to catch up on what you've been doing, I know we've got more important business to discuss, so how's about a more thorough explanation than the one on the phone?"

"Certainly..." Grissom agreed. As he cleaned the kitchen, he gave his friend the latest info on the case.

Liam's face was grim and thoughtful as the pair headed out of Grissom's place to his vehicle for the ride into the city. The jackal said nothing for over twenty minutes into the drive before finally asking a great many questions that Gil attempted to answer the best he could.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

When they arrived at the Vegas PD building, Liam knew almost as much about the case as Gil did and it made him ill. This was a very dangerous problem that needed solving as fast as possible. He may have had reservations about revealing himself when he arrived but full knowledge of what they faced far outweighed his need for secrecy.

Gil lead him into the cooler air of his work place. They walked in silence, caught the elevator and made their way down to the lower regions where his offices were. Stepping out, they could see change of shift was taking place with people going and coming from an area down the hall.

A black haired young male was just coming out of that hall when Gil called out. "Nick!"

The young man's head jerked up at his name being called then nodded when he saw his supervisor. Walking up, he gave the man a questioning look but didn't speak. Gil jerked his head toward his office. They were about to enter when Gil halted to allow Ecklie to leave.

The man scowled at Grissom but was civil enough when he said, "I had everything on the possible serial killer case completely redone but we still didn't come up with a DNA profile. I find that highly suspicious and down right impossible."

"I agree but we can't tease anything more from what we have. BAU has only just begun their part of the investigation. We'll have to wait and see if they can dig something up with their contacts," Grissom said.

"I don't like it, but you're right. We don't have any other option. Keep me informed," Ecklie said briskly.

"Of course."

Eyeing the stranger in puzzlement, Ecklie shrugged then walked away for the elevator. After he left, the three entered Grissom's office, Nick closing the door behind them.

"Nick, I want you to quickly check with the departing staff to see if they found anything new, no matter how small, then hustle up to the conference room as fast as possible."

"Gotcha." Nick quickly left.

"Give me a few minutes to check what's been left for me then we'll go upstairs too," Gil told his friend.

"Sure, no problem." Liam took the chair at the front of Gil's desk and sat down to wait.


	9. Chapter 9

**CASE OF THE WEREWOLF KILLER**

**Chapter 9: Pow Wow**

Though there were certainly urgent cases needing his attention none trumped the werewolf one. Putting his cases in order of urgency, Grissom stacked them neatly on the corner of his desk with brief notes on each for Willows to handle in his absence.

He got up and stepped to his office door and was lucky enough to spot her coming out of a lab. Calling to her, he gestured for her to come to him.

Curious, Catherine Willows changed direction and went to his office. Stepping inside, she eyed the stranger sitting there but said nothing as she turned her attention to her boss. "What's up besides that weird case?"

"It's that very case I'll be tied up with for several days more so I need you to take care of that stack on my desk. I'll be out of touch, so will Nick, so use your best judgement on who to spread the work to. Any questions?"

A sigh and a quick roll of her eyes, showed how much Catherine Willows enjoyed the orders she'd been given. "No, I got this but why is Nick going to gone as well?"

"He's involved with the case and that's all I'm willing to say about it."

Catherine blinked at that. It was very unusual for Gil to take a tech let alone not say why but she didn't press him. "By the way, how is that case going? We getting any closer to finding out who it is?"

"A little. It is hoped within the next few days we'll have caught them."

"Good. I'm rather spooked going out right now."

"Me too." He gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder then gestured for his friend to follow him, leaving the office to Catherine.

As they rode the elevator up, Liam snorted. "She didn't look too happy to be left with that lot."

"She wasn't but she's a good assistant supervisor. One day, she'll take my place. Besides it's good practice."

Liam laughed. The doors opened and his face returned to its more businesslike expression as Grissom opened the door and gestured for him to precede him. Looking around, Gil noted everyone was here, including a newcomer and Nick. Nodding, he closed and locked the door behind him. Time to get down to business, he thought as he headed for an empty seat and grabbed another chair for Liam, setting it beside him.

Everyone, except Garcia who was once again on speaker phone, had looked up when they'd entered and were now waiting until he'd settled before Hotch stood up and began the discussion.

"Dr. Grissom, who's our guest?"

"This is my friend Liam Barrett." The man offered a small smile and nodded at everyone. "He's a PI and a shape shifter who has worked with me before on cases dealing with our kind. I felt we needed another paw, as it were, on this case."

Hotch reluctantly nodded, though he wasn't happy to see another stranger added to the group. However, this was Grissom's area of expertise so he didn't comment or object. He quickly introduced the rest of the team to their guests then introduced their other visitor.

Grissom nodded at the medicine man. "So this is your contact you mentioned?" He asked Hotch.

"No, actually it was one from Agent Mulder. Mr. Chacah has volunteered to dispatch the skin walker when and if we find them."

"We appreciate your willingness to end this thing's reign of terror," Grissom said, politely to Chacah.

"It is my duty," Chacah said simply.

"Then our only other question is, do we think our unsub is still in the area?" Morgan interjected. "According to the data, this person has been moving in a downward pattern toward Mexico. Who's to say they haven't already moved on?"

"Good question..." Gideon began before he was interrupted.

"I might have an answer to that..." Reid spoke up. "Our research seems to indicate the unsub is not seeking revenge which is the reason behind a skin walker's actions so I looked for what might be their true reason and think I have a partial profile that seems to fit." He reached for his notes then began his briefing.

"I believe our unsub is a thrill killer. The primary motive is to induce pain or terror in their victims, which provides stimulation and excitement for them. This fits with the savagery of the kills. Our unsub seeks the adrenaline rush provided by hunting down their victims in their skin walker state before killing their victims. Thrill killers are only for the kill not sexual gratification or robbery, which also fits this case, and their victims are normally strangers who they've stalked for a time before killing them. The key factor that clinches the Thrill Killer label is our unsub's ability to abstain from killing for long periods of time which they've been doing by waiting for full moons to commit their crimes." He set the paper down and stared at each of them grimly.

"One other trait this type of killer has is the need to commit the perfect crime. They are very meticulous and careful in their planning and their firm belief they will never get caught. Well our unsub has been caught and they know it...uh...that is if they're aware what attacked them wasn't just ordinary animals..." He looked over at Grissom questioningly.

Grissom frowned. A surprised look on his face. He glanced over at Gideon. "I'm not certain if they knew...do you Gideon?"

The cougar shifter looked just as puzzled. "I can't say..."

"They know," Chacah broke in, his voice quiet but firm in his conviction. "In their skin walker form they are more attune to the supernatural world. Your criminal's senses would have detected your differences immediately. Their attack on you proved that."

"Not necessarily. We surprised them so it stands to reason their animal form would have taken that as a threat," Gideon objected.

But Chacah shook his head. "This person is supremely confident in their strength so would be afraid of nothing and would be extremely arrogant." He looked over at Reid. "As Dr. Reid has stated, this fool enjoys the power their form gives them. They wouldn't have felt any threat from two ordinary creatures but would against beings of the other world. Believe me, this person does know you're a threat to their perfect record and will seek to silence you," he explained. I concur with Dr. Reid. Our target is still here. They will be driven to leave no clues to their crime behind so they must deal with you before moving on."

The room fell silent as everyone absorbed this news.

"Alright, if we all agree the unsub is still here..." he paused and looked around, heads nodded. "...Then what's our next move?" Grissom asked.

"After last night, I realized we had the perfect solution to finding our unsub...using your coyote pack to back track our unsub. At least it would be a starting point and perhaps provide a clue to their human identity," Gideon suggested.

"That would have been a good idea last night and I wish now I had thought of it," Grissom grumbled a little in annoyance.

"Don't berate yourself, Dr. Grissom. You two were lucky to survive your encounter with our unsub. You were in no shape to go tracking them much less think of sending your friends after them," Hotch soothed him.

"True, but we've lost valuable time and will have to wait until tonight to contact the pack. That's more time we can ill afford losing. My guess is this guy is in their human form right now and won't be hunting until tonight. Which means we need to find them soon."

"You're correct, Dr. Grissom. A skin walker does not walk by day if they have a choice especially this one who's chosen a form that doesn't resemble an ordinary beast. So they are most likely doing whatever job or life they'd set up to stalk their victim and now with their original target dispatched, they will be anxious to move on. We need to put a stop them here as I don't fancy chasing them across the US and into Mexico. That could take months and more deaths," Chacah said grimly.

"Okay then...if we can't wait to use the coyotes are you thinking to use yourselves as blood hounds to track this thing back to their home base?" Morgan asked, pushing on. "I know we can't track them the normal way as they've left nothing to find. And there's nothing we could find to link this person to any of the victims, no wits, and nothing we could glean from the police reports."

"You're correct, Mr. Morgan. Only we can track this person and if they smell as foul as Grissom says they do, they shouldn't be that hard to find. We'd best be going and stop all the talking before more time has passed and the trail disappears," Liam growled, anxious to get started.

"Wait a minute, you guys!" Nick interjected, his face concerned. "There's still several things that need to be discussed."

"Such as..." Liam drawled, a little annoyed.

"One is, how do we capture this thing? If we're extremely lucky they will be in human form but if they can change quickly then you have their really dangerous form to deal with. Secondly, how do you kill them? Third, how do you guys keep from being killed while our medicine man kills the unsub?" Nick asked.

"All good questions, Mr. Stokes. Mr. Chacha?" Hotch asked turning to their expert.

"While it's virtually impossible to kill a skin walker in either form, there are magical ways to protect oneself while we utilize the only methods that will. Traditional faith healers can perform ceremonies to protect one from the danger a skin walkers can inflict but it takes far too much time which we haven't got. What I can do is cover all those going to be involved with physically engaging the creature is cover them with corn pollen, cedar ash, or juniper berries," the medicine man explained. "Cedar ash, or white ash as it is known, is the best method overall."

"Okay, then we have to collect some of that and use it. What else?" Hotch asked.

"Our quarry will take their skin walker form at the first sign of danger. I urge, you who intend to track it, not to attack nor give yourself away. My protections will only keep them off you but if they are crazed enough they will kill you. If you are fortunate enough to track them back to their temporary residence, then your normal police methods should be invoked to keep them human. Since they know humans don't believe in the supernatural, they wont be worried if the police think they're a suspect. They know the police wont have any evidence and are fishing. They'll be lulled into a false sense of security which will allow us to trap them more easily. If they're not at home when you locate them, then we need to find a way to herd them there..."

"Wait...we don't want innocents to become involved if we can help it," Hotch warned quickly.

Chacah raised a conciliatory palm. "Be easy, sir. Though we have ascertained our quarry is insane the traits of a skin walker will still govern how they'll act. The trait that will work for us here is their need to seek a solitary place of abode...somewhere near the desert where it's easier for them to take their other form and not be seen."

"Good! That solves keeping this under wrap from the regular cops as well. Alright. If we corner the unsub at their residence, then what?" Hotch was relieved they could contain this problem from the public and other law enforcement.

"When we know where they live, then I must circle the house with the same herbs I will cover everyone else in. This will contain the criminal within the home. Taking them out will then be easier."

"And how will you take them out...I'm assuming you're the one that must do it?" Morgan asked, frowning.

"No. My task is different. The killing must be done by those of you who are accurate with a gun or bow and arrow. My job will be to chant the spell of dispersal as you are attacking them. The arrow or bullet must be coated or filled with white ash to be effective," Chacah explained.

Relieved looks fell on many faces. "Well that's good news. I was beginning to feel like a fifth wheel here," Morgan grunted, glad to have a part in ending this threat.

"Even if you don't make it to the event itself, Mr. Morgan, you and your fellow agents do play a valuable role in tracking our quarry and harrying them back to their home if they are gone or keeping them inside while we dispatch them. No one can do this alone...it is a team effort," Chacah assured the man. "However, there is one more thing I need to tell you all."

"What's that?" Grissom asked.

"If our quarry can see you firing at them, they can and will use magic to make your gun freeze or your arrow fail to fly far or make the bow strings break."

"Well that sucks!" Nick growled.

"Then we'll have to come at them from all sides. One of us is bound to strike the unsub. Uh...exactly what will it take to kill them?" Morgan asked Chacah.

"Head and heart shot...otherwise..." the medicine man shrugged.

"I'm good but not that good," Nick admitted.

"I'm a sharp shooter. Which means I need to be there. It also means I can be a distance away so they can't spot me but I can see them and if everyone keeps them busy, they wont be able to mess with my weapon. Good!" Morgan eyed Chacah a moment and asked, "Definitely a head and heart shot...not one or the other?" Wanting to be certain. Chacah nodded. The black man sighed, this was going to be difficult.

"We have a plan it seems." Hotch looked around. "Garcia?"

"Yes sir," Penelope's voice drifted up from the speaker phone.

"Continue with your background search of all those working at the Springs Preserve. Hopefully, when Dr. Grissom and Gideon return we'll have narrowed the parameters."

"I'm on it sir. Good luck to everyone and be careful out there."

"Anything else we need to cover?" Heads turned and stared at each other then back to their leader, the answer was negative.  
"Good. With a plan of action in place all we need first is those herbs you mentioned, Mr. Chacah. Where might we find them?" Hotch asked.

Chacah smiled. He pulled his bag from his shoulder and laid it on the table. "Right here. I came prepared. However, I may not have enough with me for the protection of so many. Fortunately, I do have enough white ash for the weapons. It would be a good idea to find a corn field to get corn pollen. Junipers are not available here."

Nick spoke up. "I can take care of filling bullets with white ash, if you'll give me enough to do that?"

"Certainly." Chacah went through his pouch and came up with a baggy filled with white-gray powder. "Please be frugal and the arrows must be thoroughly coated. I recommend you use glue help make it stick."

"Got it," Nick said, taking the baggie. "I need everyone's ammunition, please, and does someone know how to use bow and arrows?"

"I do," J.J. responded. Eyes stared at her in surprise. She shrugged. "I used to compete. I'll need a 60 Compound bow, can you find that for me?"

"I should be able to find one. Anyone else with that skill?" Nick asked. No one answered. "You want me to go now and get started, Grissom?"

"Wait a minute more, Nick and thanks for doing this," Grissom said, giving his tech a brief smile. Nick just nodded.

"I'll get the ammunition for you, Nick, when we're through here," Morgan added.

"Thanks Morgan. Is there anything else we can do to help, Mr. Chacah?" Hotch asked the medicine man who was pulling more packets from his bag.

"I may need more ingredients. I hadn't thought there would be such a large group..." Chacah muttered as he took inventory of what he had and what he thought he might need. "There's no time to make more white ash but corn pollen should be available. If a few of you will go with me to harvest some...?" He raised his eyes and looked around the table.

"Well, Elle and I have nothing we can contribute to the case right now, so how about us?" J.J. volunteered them.

"Excellent. We need to find a cornfield..."

Elle rolled her eyes. "Right...let me speak to Penelope. She'll locate one nearby for us."

"Very well. It seems were set. Gideon, Dr. Grissom, and Mr. Barrett. Please keep in touch and be careful out there," Hotch warned the three before they took their leave.

"I'll have my radio but it will have to be left in the vehicle. Don't worry, we'll be extra careful," Gideon promised.

With nothing more needing said, the three shifters left together, Morgan and Nick headed out to the parking lot for the ammo with Morgan deciding to give Nick a hand with the loading since he had nothing to do until the shifters returned.

Hotch sat down to compile his notes while Reid and J.J. peppered Chacah with questions as he sorted his supplies and prepared to leave himself.

Elle went to the phone and was about to ask Penelope a question when the tech spoke first. "Elle, you there?"

"Yes. Got something for me?"

"Yes, write this down..." Garcia rattled off an address and directions. "I've contacted the owner, who was very confused by the request but didn't refuse so you've got permission to take what you need."

"Thanks gal, appreciate it. Later." Elle closed the intercom off and turned back to the group. Minutes later the harvesters headed out to collect pollen.


	10. Chapter 10

**CASE OF THE WEREWOLF KILLER**

**Chapter 10: Tracking a Killer**

They decided to use Grissom's hummer. After retrieving a hand held radio, bottles of water, and some sandwiches, the three piled into the vehicle with Gideon taking the back seat allowing Barrett to sit shotgun.

"So how long does it take to get to this guy's last known location?" Barrett asked, drinking some water to hydrate before their run.

"About an hour and a half. Open me one of those would you?" Grissom answered, reaching for a bottle which Gideon opened then handed over.

"I hope we find the trail quickly. I don't want to be combing these hills every night in hopes of spotting this thing," Barrett commented, staring at the passing scenery which contained the most garishly decorated buildings he'd ever seen.

Some were incredible feats of architectural design while others looked liked theme parks with waterfalls, amusement rides, a replica of the Sphinx no less, and many other amazing looking venues and hotels. The lights painted the night sky with garish color. Much better looking than their day time appearance he'd seen from the plane earlier.

But the first time he'd ever been here had been at night and he'd been awed by the sheer grandeur of it and at the same time disgusted by the amount of electricity being wasted. The place looked like the sun itself had come down to light things up.

Not being a gambling man, he wasn't interested in the night life on the strip. His only business, that first visit, was the case that had brought he and Grissom together. Their case was in a small community some miles away for which he'd been grateful. Vegas was a crazy enough city without trying to find a murderer among its glitz and glamor.

His mind returned to the present where he was glad to note Grissom had removed them from the insane traffic of the city. They were now cruising at a faster speed down a wide highway. There wasn't much to see but desert and the occasional housing area so he closed his eyes and took a brief nap.

~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~

Gideon stared at the flashing lights of the strip with blind eyes. His mind was on the last encounter he'd had with their unsub. Skin walkers were a blight that needed exterminating as quick as possible. It was bad enough they were humans but add in their human failings like insanity and they became dangerous nuisances that brought unwanted attention to the legitimate supernatural community. And there still was the question no one was able to answer earlier...why take three forms? It made no sense.

"Thinking about our target?" Gil murmured from the driver's seat, his eyes still firmly on the road.

The cougar shifter stared into the rear view mirror and caught Gil's eyes on him. "Though I agree with Reid on this being a thrill killer, I'm still wondering why the unsub has taken three forms and did they originally start off this way or were they a Native American seeking revenge,first, and enjoyed it so much they kept on doing it and thought bigger was better?"

"Or are they one of those paranormal nuts that wanted to experience a new thrill?" Gil asked right back. He shook his head. "Afraid we'll not get an answer to any of our questions since we can't get close enough to demand answers. But I understand your desire to want them."

Gideon sighed. "You're right. Though, I hate being left with a huge blank spot under motivation of the killer in my report."

There was a thoughtful silence for a moment then Gil said, "You still might find your answers if we have someone take a picture of the person then track them back to their first kill."

The cougar shifter's eyes blinked then snorted at himself in disgust. "Of course we can and it's normal procedure during the stake out portion of the investigation. I don't know why we missed that though."

"Forest for the trees mentality...happens to all of us which is why we discuss everything to such great lengths," Gil soothed his friend.

"So true. I'll remind Hotch of that when we return. If the team finds the unsub's residence here, we can get plenty of pics of them and hopefully identify them. It will be tougher if they haven't a criminal record but eventually we should find out who they were."

"When you do, make sure to let me know as well. Nick and I would love to know what motivated this person too."

"Of course. My only concern now is taking the unsub out before they take another victim."

"And that could be one of us if Dr. Reid's supposition is right and that's what this little jaunt is about after all, but I have another question for you...do we know if any of the victims we're shape shifters?" Barrett, who had roused at the sound of their voices, asked.

Gideon and Gil blinked in surprise. It was the CSI scientist who answered. "No, we don't."

"Then we better do a little more digging into the case when this part is done. I want to know if they've been targeting our kind at all or were they just humans," Gideon said, pulling out his notebook and jotting down what he needed to tell Hotch.

"It might even answer your question, Gideon, about why they've taken three forms," suggested Barrett, thoughtfully.

"It might indeed. Thank you."

"No problem. Be sure you tell me what you find out, too," Barrett said, pleased he'd been of some help.

"Don't worry, I will," Gil promised.

"You know what's truly annoying?" Barrett mused, not expecting them to answer. "Is having to track down some fool human who decided to dabble in our world. Don't we have enough problems of our own?"

Gideon snorted. "It's the nature of humans to be fascinated and reckless. That will never change."

"Too true!" Barrett sighed and signaled for a bottle of water from Gideon who handed him one. After taking a deep swig, he said, "Ya know, I've never heard of a skin walker being able to take more than one form at the same time...I don't think I've heard it was even possible."

"It's not supposed to be. Wish I knew how the hell they managed it but that's a question we won't get an answer on since only the unsub would know it," Gideon said, shaking his head.

Barrett just snorted. "Well, I hope we can at least discover why they did it. Seems overkill when you're hunting humans but if they were targeting us as well, then it would make sense."

Gideon frowned. "I don't like the idea of a human discovering our kind and going on a hunt for us...might give others the same idea."

"Now there a truly scary thought. Let's hope this guy is just an aberration," Barrett said, shivering.

"It just might be part of the unsub's psychosis," Grissom ventured. "And we haven't established if their human mind knows about the supernatural world outside their skinwalker form," he reminded them.

"Lots of questions. Hope we get some answers soon as nothing about this case makes much sense," Gideon said, disgusted.

Silence fell for awhile in the car. Traffic had thinned the further they'd gotten away from the strip and the stars were bright but still couldn't compete with all the neon lights shining behind them like a beacon.

"Looks like we're nearly there," Gideon observed some ten minutes later, finishing his water and watching Grissom steer the car onto a turnoff that was clearly marked as the destination for the _Las Vegas Springs Preserve_.

_The Springs Preserve _was the premier place in Las Vegas where people more interested in nature would come to explore the valley's vibrant history through interactive science and nature exhibits, an eight acre botanical garden (one section was where weddings were held), hiking and biking trails, and live animal shows. There was _The Desert Living Center (_which held exhibits, classrooms, meeting spaces, and an art gallery), the _Waterworks Museum, The Nevada State Museum, The Origen Museum, _a large child's playground, a café, a gift shop, and ticket booths plus a large parking lot.

It was a fantastic place and one Gideon wished he had time to explore. However, they were here because a body had been dumped at the edge of the beautiful gardens.

It was a long five mile drive from the entrance to the back of _The Gardens_ and it should have been dark out here as the place was closed but the lights of the strip and the Spring's security lighting which was spread over the entire facilities pathways provided more than enough light. Of course to the shifter's animal eyes it was as bright as day.

Grissom finally halted his car near the area of the last body drop and cut the engine. Silence fell as the engine ticked as it cooled. The three shifters stepped out and stretched. The scent and sound of water could be heard from the _Waterworks Museum _and from the sprinkler system that was presently misting _The Gardens_.

Turning away from The Gardens all one saw was the vast desert and in the distance the mountains.

Grissom raised an arm and pointed to an area that was left of their position. "That leads to the Las Vegas Wash. The scent led us that way and up. We met our quarry about halfway up the escarpment. So that's where we try and pick up the scent again. Our quarry kept off the preserve's hiking trails and biking routes apparently as we found no trace of them near the body dump."

"But they did enter the preserve to leave the body. I suspect they may even be working here so they could stalk the perfect victim. We've already begun interviews of the workers but our search parameters were large of necessity. With this possibility, we can narrow down the suspects to those who arrived within the last six month and whether they've left. I'll call Hotch and have him put Garcia on this. At least our suspect pool will be smaller and we just might get lucky," Gideon told them as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell.

"Have them speak to Captain Brass. He might already have something on that. Would save your team covering the same ground," Grissom added. Gideon nodded that he'd heard then turned away to speak with his superior.

While Gideon was occupied, Barrett and Grissom began stripping their clothes off. Before altering their form, the two sucked down more water. When Gideon completed his call, he hurriedly stripped his clothing off too.

Stowing their clothing away, Grissom locked the car and stashed the keys behind the left rear wheel. Turning back to his companions he asked, "Ready?"

"Let's do this!" Barrett responded, morphing immediately. In quick succession, Grissom and Gideon did the same and within moments three shifters stood on four feet, shaking their bodies out to settle the transformation. Without a sound, Grissom headed off at a run with the other two in his wake.

It took them a good thirty minutes to reach the location where they'd first encountered the beast. Each took a quadrant and began searching for the creature's scent. It was Barrett that detected it first as his nose was far keener than either wolf or cougar.

With a weird yap his kind were known for to alert them, he headed up the hill at a run that slowed to more of a scramble as his canid paws struggled to get purchase on the rocky, steep path up the walls of the wash. Of the three, only the cat had less problems and was soon leaping ahead of them to the top. It was even more difficult for Grissom, whose heavier form wasn't made for climbing.

On the rim that ran along this section of the wash, there were more trees and low shrubs and not far below was the wide expanse that was the Las Vegas Wash that poured through a large wetland. They followed the scent along the rim for some time before it seemed to plunge down a steep embankment to the water below.

Again, the canids had a difficult time getting down without actually falling to the rocks below but Gideon used the trees and brush to get down more easily than they. But finally the three reached the bottom, more or less at the same time, and as they pushed through a thick field of cattails, they ran into company.

Water dripped off the lone, gray fox's chin as it raised it's head in alarm and prepared to run but a low bark and series of soft grumbles from Grissom made it freeze. It was smaller than the golden jackal so it felt overwhelmed by the three predators, especially the two it was not familiar with. It tolerated Grissom in its territory as the wolf made a habit of sharing his kills with him. It large eyes watched the other two alertly, body ready to flee if it thought they threatened him.

To make it feel more comfortable, the three sat down and relaxed. Grissom began a barking conversation that the fox responded to with small high pitched yips of its own. The 'conversation' lasted some minutes then it seemed the two canids had come to an agreement of some kind because the fox turned and made off along the river bank with Grissom following.

Gideon looked puzzled but Barrett just tossed his head in a come along gesture and took off after the wolf. The cougar looked around one more time before heading off after the strange collection of dogs.

The fox lead the group deeper and deeper into the wet lands before halting. It sat down and barked at Grissom, using its paw to tap at a patch of ground before it. The wolf nodded and barked back. The fox bobbed its head before turning into the brush and running off, vanishing in a second.

Grissom walked up to the spot the fox had pointed at and studied the odd print in the soft mud. The other two came up along side him and did the same. Barrett made a grimacing face of disgust and backed up from the spot. The cougar also grimaced but wasn't as bothered by the nasty odor.

The white wolf's fur made him stand out among the dark reeds waving in the night air as he raised his head and sniffed around for a scent. He sneezed then shook his huge shaggy head. Suddenly he morphed into his biped form. The other two did the same, waiting to see what he had to say.

"So what did he say and where are we?" Gideon asked, his voice high and thick...hard to talk around long fangs.

"My fox friend brought us here where he and others had seen our target. It terrified everyone and he asked that we get rid of it before all their food is scared away. We now have proof the unsub is still around because they were seen hunting then crossing at this very spot a few hours ago. No one has seen or heard them since."

"I don't know if that's good news or bad. We might have caught them finally but with a scent like that and as big and dangerous as you say they are, I'm kind of glad we didn't," Barrett commented, his nose still wrinkling in disgust. "I can smell where they crossed the water here."

"The fox saw them climb up that bank over there and head up out of sight. As for where we are, this is the beginning of the new _Clark County Wet Lands Park_. It's thirteen miles from the Spring's Preserve."

"We've come a long distance then. Is there a facility here too like at the Springs?" Gideon asked, looking around. Sounds of small creatures calling to each other and frogs croaking filled the air, the presence of three shifters not having disturbed them too much.

"No, nothing yet. Ground breaking for the project was due to start this year," Grissom informed them.

"Good. I was afraid we would have to widen our suspect pool. So let's go for a swim," Gideon said, grimacing at the idea of getting wet. He altered back to his cougar form and stepped reluctantly into the water, immediately beginning to paddle quickly across the small pond.

Without speaking, the two canids did the same, leaving long ripples behind them as they swam swiftly across. Reaching the opposite bank, they climbed out and shook the water from their fur. A short distance away, the cougar was grooming its face, its coat more repellant than the two dogs so he wasn't as wet.

Barrett immediately began searching for their target's scent while Grissom watched him. He soon found it. Unfortunately, wet the thing reeked even worse than when dry, setting the jackal to violently sneezing.

The cougar and wolf didn't much care for it either as they too sneezed and backed away from the worst part of the scent trail. Shaking his head and pulling his gums back to reveal his sharp row of tiny fangs, Barrett grimaced in distaste but headed off following the noisome scent into the tall grass and cattails.

It wasn't long before Grissom realized the scent was leading them back toward _The Springs Preserve_. Soon they were just above where the beaten dirt paths were for both biking and hiking trails. However, their quarry didn't actually step foot on the paths at all, choosing to keep to the brush ten feet above instead. The trail continued on until they reached the rear of the, still under construction, _Waterworks Museum_.

Barrett continued on around the building until they came to the end of the row of museums and arrived at the point they'd begun the hunt, the huge parking lot. It was there Barrett stopped dead a moment. Shaking his head, he began searching outward in a circle. The wolf and cougar sat and waited, watching him. It wasn't long before the jackal returned to them then morphed into his human form.

"The scent stops dead right here but I thought I'd check further just to be sure," he reported.

Gideon nodded. "That fits with altering back and getting into a vehicle. So either they are a visitor or they work here. I'd opt for working here since your fox friend said our unsub has been hanging around a while. Visiting frequently would be costly. Working here makes more sense."

"Without any further evidence to the contrary, I have to agree with you." Grissom nodded.

"I was hoping they would lead us to their home but that would have been too easy. So, I guess good old fashioned police work will have to locate them. I don't really fancy coming out here and searching every night. Got any other suggestions?" Barrett asked.

"I agree it isn't wise to keep hunting this thing ourselves. We've done what we set out to do which is proving the unsub is still here," Gideon said.

"Then I suggest we call in some help..." Grissom said before altering to his wolf form and howling into the night.

His two companions stared at him in puzzled confusion. The wolf howled for five minutes before out in the distance his calls were answered. The cry of a pack of coyotes were heard over the still night air.

Grissom morphed to human again, a grin on his face.

"Ahh, calling in your adopted pack, eh?" Gideon smirked.

The wolf shifter shrugged. "Seemed like a good idea. They've encountered them so know what to look for and how to keep out of their way while keeping track of them for us."

"Wow, great idea and it'll certainly help us keep tabs on them until we're ready to trap and kill," Barrett agreed, giving a predatory smile. "How long will it take your posse to get here?"

"Oh, by the sound of the howls...about twenty minutes. Might as well eat our dinner while we wait," Grissom suggested changing back to wolf and running toward _The Gardens_ where their vehicle was parked. The two caught up then ran beside him.

At the car, they returned to human form. Barrett retrieved the keys and opened the car then went to the rear to open the hatch, pulling the cooler toward him. Each of them reached in and grabbed a sandwich and drink then sat in their seats, eating in silence.

Nearly twenty-five minutes later, a howl was heard approaching. Putting his trash in the cooler, Grissom then changed to wolf and sent a call back. In minutes, a pack of six adult coyotes came down the paths from the desert to where they waited in _The Gardens, _halting about ten feet from the group.

The conversation between Grissom and the coyotes was short and noisy. Then, as suddenly as they'd arrived the pack took off again into the desert.

While they'd waited, Gideon and Barrett had decided to get dressed.

Once his business was done, Grissom trotted back to them looking upset, his fur raised and fangs exposed. He altered back and began tugging his clothing on with angry jerks. "They'll keep watch for us. They hate the thing as the criminal has killed four of their members, two of them female." Grissom's manner was savage and angry.

Gideon and Barrett wisely made no comment. They understood his anger and sympathized. Unlike humans, shape shifters held tighter bonds to their own kind and, even though this wasn't a wolf pack, Grissom had adopted the coyotes as his own and considered them his responsibility. The deaths made him feel he'd failed at that duty.

Gideon pitied the skin walker. No matter how powerful the unsub was, an angry, bent for revenge, shape shifter could be enough to bring the fool down. Grissom was not someone to cross and though the unsub was already marked for death, the cougar felt they weren't going to go down quickly if the wolf got to them first. Though he didn't think the CSI scientist would go off on his own, he thought he and Barrett should keep close just in case.

The three climbed aboard the vehicle and were soon heading back to Police Headquarters.


End file.
